Sameena Nazir Follow

Sameena Nazir is a writer, trained actor, playwright and producer. A theatre graduate from the National Academy of Performing Arts, she is the co-founder and CEO of What If Productions, and has written, produced and directed a number of short films as well as television films. Kallo (2021) is her debut short story collection, and her debut novel Siyah Heerey (2023) is noted for being the first Urdu novel to be set in Africa. Her writing deals with taboos such as homosexuality, female sexuality and caste. Sameena is based in Karachi.

Saira Mujtaba is a Lakhnawi at heart and is currently based in New Delhi. She hails from a family of writers and poets in Lucknow. She is a broadcaster by profession, but translating Urdu literature for the wider English-speaking audience is her calling. She has translated poets like Anwar Nadeem and writers like Masroor Jahan. She is a formally trained filmmaker, having pursued a degree in mass communication from A.J.K. Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. She is also a member of Katha Kathan, a group of storytellers that do dramatized storytelling. Kallo is her debut translation.