Join us at the bookshop for an evening with award-winning food writer and novelist Shahnaz Ahsan. 
Shahnaz will be here to talk all about her heartfelt memoir 'The Jackfruit Chronicles' - a moving exploration of family, food and what it means to belong.

About Shahnaz Ahsan
Shahnaz's debut novel Hashim & Family (John Murray/Hachette) was an Observer Best Book of 2020 and was shortlisted for the Guardian Not the Booker Prize. She writes for Observer Food Monthly, Vittles, Good Food, Waitrose Magazine, Borough Market Magazine, and Hyphen, among other publications.
Shahnaz regularly appears on national and international radio, including BBC Radio 4, BBC Asian Network, BBC Scotland, Times Radio, and ABC Radio Australia. She has also taught creative writing at the University of Westminster, and facilitates sessions on food culture for public and private sector clients.
Born and raised in West Yorkshire, Shahnaz is of British-Bangladeshi heritage, and has also lived in the USA, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Rwanda.

About The Jackfruit Chronicles
With insight and love, Shahnaz guides us through the vibrant flavours and captivating story of Bengali food and its place in Britain. Beginning with the arrival of Shahnaz’s grandfather, Habib, in Manchester in the 1950s, this is a spellbinding journey not just through one family story, but also the broader tale of the Bangladeshi diaspora’s quest for a new life in Britain.
Shahnaz beautifully weaves together this narrative of migration and hope with treasured family recipes, including dishes like sour tomato broth, jackfruit kofta curry, lentil fritters, fish with clementine peels and much more.
The Jackfruit Chronicles was the recipient of the British Library Narrative Cookery Book Award 2026.

​Thursday 8th October | 6:30pm | Tickets £5 | Refreshments