Qaisra Shahraz is a Pakistani-English writer, school inspector, education consultant and freelance journalist

Freelancer

A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...

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Life

Qaisra Shahraz was born in Pakistan and raised in England. She has been living in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 since she was nine years old. She has two Masters degrees in European literature and Scriptwriting. She has worked as an advisor for the University of Lancaster, a school inspector and a journalist. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

Royal Society of Arts

The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...

 and a director of Gatehouse Books, publishing books written by students for Skills for Life classes. She has hosted many workshops and trainings on "Quality in Education" in Pakistan and India through the British Council

British Council

The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...

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Her aspiration to become a writer developed in her early teens but Shahraz says she writes mainly to entertain and explore women’s issues. She writes mostly on Muslims women living in western societies

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

 and explores the challenges and problems they face.

Qaisra Shahraz has published in magazines and newspapers including The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

. Originally she concentrated on short stories, but progressed to writing longer and more substantial works. Her novel The Holy Woman, interweaving the lives of the rich and their servants, has been published in numerous countries and translated into various languages. She has written a drama serial Dil he to hay which was telecast in Pakistan Television

Pakistan Television Corporation

The Pakistan Television Corporation is Pakistan's national television broadcaster. The first live transmission of PTV began on November 26, 1964, in Lahore...

 (PTV) and received two awards.

Her early creation, "A pair of Jeans" first published in the UK in 1988, explores the issue of clothing, female modesty, multiple identities and cultural clashes. In 1989 it was picked up by a German Professor/Editor, Dr. Liesel Hermes, as a literary text to be used in German schools.

Works

Short Stories

Publication-UK

• A Pair Of Jeans
• Holding Out
• Black And Priceless
• What Big Eyes You Have Got
• Acclaim Magazine
• No Limits
• Rabbits English
• Dragon Fly
  Dragonfly
  A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
  
   In The Sun
• Pakistani Writing In English
• The Elopement

Publication-Germany

• A Pair of Jeans has been published twelve times, including eight versions in Germany and has been quoted in many other countries literature.

• Raabits English (1994) Cornelsen

• One Language Many Voices (2005–2006) Cornelsen, Diesterweg, Klett, Schönigh, Stark, Reclam etc. Other Short Stories

• Invitations To Literature (1990)

• Writing Women - Twentieth Century Short Stories
  Short Stories
  Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
  
   (1991);

Publication-Holland

• Tyfoon (2003) Van Gennep (Dutch).

Publication-India

• The Holy Woman (2008) Penguin / Yatra Books (Hindi, Urdu & English)

• Typhoon (2008) Penguin / Yatra Books (Hindi, Urdu & English)

• And the World Changed – Writing by Pakistani Women Writers (2005) Women Unlimited

• Neither Night nor Day – 13 Stories
  13 Stories
  13 Stories is an Atlanta, Georgia based pop-band. Keyboards and leading vocals are provided by Cheri D, lead guitar is by Cat, bass guitar is by J3, and drums are by Max. They have released a CD entitled FunkyPopSexyHouseRap with the single Beep! Beep!...
  
   by Women Writers  from Pakistan (2007), Harper Collins
  HarperCollins
  HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
  
  .

Publication-Indonesia

• Perempuan Suci (2006), Mizan Pustaka

• Perempuan Terluka (2007) Mizan Pustaka

Publication-Pakistan

• Dragonfly in the Sun (1997) Oxford University Press

• The Holy Woman (2002), Alhamra (English)

• And the World Changed – Writing by Pakistani Women Writers (2007) Oxford University Press
  Oxford University Press
  Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
  
  

• Pakistani Literature
  Pakistani literature
  Pakistan literature, that is, the literature of Pakistan, is a distinct literature that gradually came to be defined after Pakistan gained nationhood status in 1947, emerging out of literary traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The shared tradition of Urdu literature and English literature of...
  
   & Women Writers of Pakistan (2007)

• Pakistani Literature in English (2007) Academy of Letters

• Typhoon (2003), Alhamra (English)

Publication-Turkey

• Kutsal Kadin (2005), Truva

• Tayfun (2005), Truva

Novels

• The Holly Woman

• Typhoon

Prizes and awards

• 1988 Commonword Prize (New Horizons
  New Horizons
  New Horizons is a NASA robotic spacecraft mission currently en route to the dwarf planet Pluto. It is expected to be the first spacecraft to fly by and study Pluto and its moons, Charon, Nix, Hydra and S/2011 P 1. Its estimated arrival date at the Pluto-Charon system is July 14th, 2015...
  
  , New Spheres)

• 1994 Ian St James Award (Perchavah)

• 2002 Asian Women of Achievement Awards (Arts category) (shortlist)

• 2003 Jubilee Award The Holy Woman

• 2003 Muslim News Awards for Excellence (Arts category) (shortlist)

• 2004 Pakistan Television Awards Dil Hee to Hai (The Heart Is It)