Woman of Influence, Farzana Doctor
It has been such an honor to even correspond with this month’s Woman of Influence. Farzana Doctor has won a number of literary awards including the 2012 Lambda Literary Award for Six Meters of Pavement, Kobo 2015 and National Post Best Book of the Year Award for All Inclusive. She was named “100 Writers in Canada You Need to Know” by CBC Books. Farzana is an activist, psychotherapist and advocate.
On generating exquisite writing that is a driver for profound change…
Thank you! While I try to put my novelist hat on first when I’m writing (so that I can give priority to craft), my activist self has always been present in my writing. I believe that writing has the power to help us grow empathy and imagine possibilities to shake up the status quo while being simultaneously artful and entertaining.
Farzana has been passionate about the environment, gender violence and LGBTTTIQ rights since she was a young adult. She has carried this desire for social justice into her novels.
Her greatest accomplishment...
Spiritually, the best thing is hearing how my writing has impacted readers. I love learning how my books have raised awareness, or made someone feel seen, or helped with healing. A couple of years ago, one young South Asian woman told me that she’d read my first novel seven times because it felt like home to her.
More materially, there were a couple of days in December when Seven hit #1 on AppleBooks’s bestseller list. It’s so gratifying to know that people are buying and reading it.
How writing Seven changed her life...
Before Seven came out, I was nervous about what the promotion would look like. Did I have to come out as a survivor of khatna (FGC)? Would I get triggered talking about this very taboo form of gender-based violence? It turned out Seven has been a vehicle for raising awareness and I’ve come to view this as a great opportunity, rather than a burden. Through talking about Seven, it’s characters, and its story (at over 100 events since September), I’ve grown more confident about speaking publicly about this trauma. It’s been liberating.
The challenges and opportunities of being a writer in Canada...
I think the greatest challenge is how our smaller population can mean a smaller reading audience. Also, it can be hard for Canadian authors’ books to reach larger international markets. I sometimes hear from my US friends that it’s pretty easy to sell ten thousand books, whereas five thousand copies is considered a bestseller in Canada. This is important because authors usually earn about $2 per book, and so it can be difficult to earn a sustainable income from your writing in Canada.
On the other hand, our smallness can also lead to solidarity and events such as #IReadCanadian, which is very helpful. Over the fourteen years I’ve been a published author, I’ve become part of a supportive community of writers and publishing folks who have helped me to become a better writer.
The one word you want people to grasp when they think of you...
One word? Aaack, novelists have trouble with brevity. :-)
I recently came across the term “thought-leader”, and it struck me that we really need more people to take leadership to raise awareness and promote conversations. I think authors can do this in both direct and indirect ways, helping readers to shift and grow. So if I only get one word, I’ll choose thought-leader.
Please take the opportunity to buy one of Farzana Doctor’s books:
Stealing Nasreen, Six Metres of Pavement, All Inclusive, Seven
To learn more about this brilliant, amazing author, speaker and activist you can find her at the following:
Website https://farzanadoctor.com/
