Between Inheritance and Independence

Spend an evening with Dubai-based authors Avni Doshi and Sara Hamdan in conversation with journalist and writer Tessy Koshy, exploring what it means to build a literary practice from the region while engaging an international readership. The discussion reflects on the socio-cultural conditions that shape their work — from expectation and displacement to language, publishing economies, and the tension between visibility and marginality.

Sara Hamdan, whose debut novel, What Will People Think?, published in 2025, draws on the pressures of social conformity and turning cultural expectations into humour and courage. Avni Doshi, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020, will introduce her forthcoming novel The First House, which continues her exploration of family, memory, and rupture. Rather than treating Dubai as mere backdrop, the conversation considers what it means to write from the region and how writers position themselves within, against, and beyond dominant literary centres. 

Date: Sunday, 8 March 2026

Time: 8PM - 9.30PM

Venue: Common Room, WH51, Alserkal Arts Foundation (pin)

Presented by Avid Learning and Madhu Ruia, in collaboration with Alserkal Arts Foundation

Avni Doshi is an internationally acclaimed novelist best known for Burnt Sugar, first published in India as Girl in White Cotton. The novel was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize and has been translated into 26 languages. It was named ‘Book of the Year’ by the Guardian, Economist, Spectator, and NPR, and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. A graduate of Barnard College and University College London in art history, Doshi began her career as an art writer and curator, contributing to publications including Frieze and Art Asia Pacific. Her work explores memory, identity, and family with psychological precision. Her second novel, The First House, is launching in July 2026.

Sara Hamdan is a novelist and journalist, currently Editor-in-Chief of The New York Times T Style Magazine MENA. A graduate of Berkeley and Columbia, she previously worked as a Merrill Lynch banker, journalist, and editor at Google before turning to fiction. Her debut novel, What Will People Think?, earned a Netflix short story award and the Emirates Literature Foundation Seddiqi Writers' Fellowship. The novel received acclaim from The New York Times, Forbes, and was selected as a Jimmy Fallon Book Club finalist for 2025. Palestinian American and raised in Greece, Hamdan has called Dubai home for over two decades. Her writing blends humor and emotional depth, exploring identity, family expectations, and self-discovery.

Tessy Koshy is an independent art and culture journalist with over two decades of experience documenting the evolving creative landscape of the Middle East. Through her award-winning platform, Middle East Masala, she has spotlighted artists, cultural movements, and thought leaders shaping the region's identity. Her features and commentary have appeared in leading publications including Khaleej Times, Gulf News, The National, Arab News, Fast Company Middle East, Arts Illustrated, The Telegraph, India Today, and Women's Web. She began her career as a full-time journalist in New Delhi, building a diverse portfolio across magazines, newspapers, and digital platforms. Koshy is also the founder of Power of Pages, a Dubai-based book club that encourages women to connect through motivational and self-development literature. Through curated discussions and expert-led sessions, she fosters dialogue, inspiration, and meaningful cultural exchange.

Madhu Ruia is the founder of Avid Learning, established in 2009 in India, as a platform dedicated to lifelong learning across arts, culture, literature, and contemporary ideas. Deeply committed to intellectual and cultural exchange, She has built Avid Learning into a space that connects global thought leaders with curious audiences. Her academic journey includes studies at The New School in New York and coursework at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, where she later joined the board and continues to serve in an honorary capacity. A Sanskrit scholar, sitar player, and a selfthought sculptor recognised by the Lalit Kala Academy, Ruia is also a founding member of the Sahachari Foundation. Through cultural initiatives and Design One exhibitions in Mumbai and Delhi, she champions emerging talent while raising funds for charitable causes. Her work reflects a lifelong dedication to education, heritage, and the arts.

Avid Learning is Essar's cultural arm and India's leading arts and cultural programming platform. Founded in 2009, under the esteemed leadership of Mrs. Madhu Ruia as Founder & Chairperson, Avid Learning has presented more than 1800 multiverse and hybrid programs, domestically and internationally. Together with its online platform – AVID Online launched in 2020 – Avid Learning has reached more than 2 million interested learners, globally.

Avid Learning Middle East is an extension of the cultural arm of the Essar Group and builds on over a decade of creative collaboration with Dubai, a global hub for cultural exchange and innovation.

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