About this item
The unforgettable, haunting story of a young womans perilous fight for freedom and justice for her brother, the first novel published in English by a female Kurdish writer Set in Iran, this extraordinary debut novel takes readers into the everyday lives of the Kurds. Leila dreams of making films to bring the suppressed stories of her people onto the global stage, but obstacles keep piling up. Leilas younger brother Chia, influenced by their fathers past torture, imprisonment, and his deep-seated desire for justice, begins to engage with social and political affairs. But his activism grows increasingly risky and one day he disappears in Tehran. Seeking answers about her brothers whereabouts, Leila fears the worst and begins a campaign to save him. But when she publishes Chias writings online, she finds herself in grave danger as well.Daughters of Smoke and Fire is an evocative portrait of the lives and stakes faced by 40 million stateless Kurds and a powerful story that brilliantly illuminates the meaning of identity and the complex bonds of family, perfect for fans of Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies Half of a Yellow Sun.
About the Author
Ava Homa is a writer, journalist, and activist. DAUGHTERS OF SMOKE AND FIRE (May 2020) is her debut novel published by the HarperCollins in Canada & ABRAMS in the US. Her collection of short stories Echoes from the Other Land (Mawenzi, Toronto, 2010) was nominated for the 2011 Frank O'Conner Short Story Prize and secured a place among the ten winners of the 2011 CBC Reader's Choice Contest, running concurrently with the Giller Prize. Homa is also the inaugural recipient of the PEN Canada-Humber College Writers-In-Exile Scholarship. In different settings across North America and Europe, Homa has delivered speeches on writing as resistance, human rights, gender equality, Kurdish affairs, media literacy, and other topics. She has a Master's Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Windsor in Canada, another in English Language and Literature from Tehran, Iran, and a diploma in editing from Toronto. A Writer-in-Residence at the Historic Joy Kogawa House, BC (2013) , George Brown College, Toronto (2012) , R. D. Lawrence Cultural Centre, Minden Hills (2011) , and the Open Book Toronto and Ontario (2011) , Homa has taught Creative Writing workshops to diverse writers, judged writing contests, served the editorial board of the Write Magazine and the National Council of The Writers' Union of Canada. For more information visit www.AvaHoma.com
