BENL Alumni Unplugged: Secrets of the writing industry

By, Nur Najia Nazri and Nur Fatimah Azzahra 

GOMBAK, 14 May 2024: A BENL alumna, Aishah Zainal, shared her experience as an author during the Alumni Unplugged programme, conducted by the Secretariat of English Language & Literature (ELITS). 

Aishah Zainal is the author of her debut novel, “Hades”. She was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award and Popular Reader’s Choice Award 2024. Her novel was published in January 2023 by the publisher, Gerakbudaya.

It tells the story of a sixteen-year-old troublemaker Kei and his mother who had moved into a decaying low-cost flat from the slums at the edge of town, right next to Maryam, a young mother, and her three-year-old son, Ishak. Shunned by society, Kei and Maryam develop an unspoken bond, which starts to fray as the ghosts from their past circle in. 

“I would like people all over the globe to read Malay literature. Our literature also matters”, mentioned the young Malaysian author when asked about the reason she wrote “Hades”. 

She also explained that the background of the novel was inspired by her own experience. As she grew up witnessing the poverty issue in low-cost apartments in her hometown, Ipoh, Perak, she used her knowledge of the issue as her aspiration in writing.” “Writing is all about honesty. So, I wrote on what I saw,” she said. 

Interestingly, she wrote “Hades” without any plot initially, unlike what is done by most authors. She jotted down everything that came to her mind. She preferred to set the characters and the motives of each character before figuring out the plot later.

With gratitude, she announced her upcoming novel as she intended to submit the completed manuscript to the publisher in September this year. She expressed her hope that it would be accepted by the publisher. 

Everyone from IIUM’s Department of English Language and Literature (DELL) is supporting Aishah Zainal’s in her writing career. Before the event ended, Dr. Tanja Jonid from DELL gave a speech to thank her for making the event meaningful as well as wished her the best of luck for her future. ***