Monica Ali is an award-winning, bestselling writer whose novels include Brick Lane, In the Kitchen and Untold Story. She was chosen as one of Granta’s 2003 Best of Young British Novelists. Her work has been translated into 26 languages, and she has judged a number of literary prizes including as Chair of the International Man Booker. 

Her writing has appeared in numerous publications including The Guardian, the Times, The New Yorker, and the New York Times, for which she is a literary reviewer. She is a Fellow of the RSA and of the Orwell Prize. She has taught creative writing at Columbia University, New York, where she was a visiting Professor, and she is currently Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of Surrey. 

Words Away Salon: Imagining and Developing Characters