Meet the Judges: Shahed Ezaydi
Meet the judges! We chatted with the wonderful Shahed Ezaydi on all things books. Aa writer at Stylist Magazine, Shahed specialises in features and news in politics and entertainment. She previously worked as a freelance editor at Bustle UK as well as publications such as Dazed, Metro and gal-dem. She’s also the author of the upcoming book, The Othered Woman: How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THE ONLINE READING COMMUNITY?
My favourite part is watching or reading people talk about the books they’re reading and how much they love them, you can feel the dedication and passion spilling out of people and it’s such a beautiful and heartwarming thing. Books have this unique and incredible way of bringing people together and I just love watching videos of people’s monthly reads on TikTok and what they thought about them or seeing people’s bookshelves on Instagram or seeing people join online book clubs. Oh, and the recommendations of course!
WHAT BOOK FIRST SPARKED YOUR LOVE FOR READING?
For me, Jacqueline Wilson was my opening to falling in love with reading and literature. I used to read and re-read Lola Rose and Dustbin Baby on a very regular basis, I was obsessed. She’s an author who, yes, wrote books for younger people, but she never shied away from tackling hard-hitting issues and themes in a way that someone aged 12 or 13 could really understand and engage with.
WHAT DEBUT AUTHOR SHOULD WE BE KEEPING OUR EYES ON?
A book that I’m so excited for is Adele Walton’s Logging Off, which is due to be released next March. Adele is such a brilliant writer and journalist and tackles topics around the digital world and Big Tech in such a rigorous, thoughtful and engaging way. It’s a book that explores the emotional and psychological damage that social media and the online world can wreak on so many of us and I’m lucky enough to have read a couple of chapters of Logging Off already and it’s truly excellent.
WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL INSPIRED TO WRITE?
A lot of my work as a journalist (and my upcoming book) is based on social justice and political themes, so the main driving force behind that work is feeling like I’m doing my part in my job to contribute to something so much bigger. Whether that’s writing about Islamophobia to platform an especially marginalised issue to a wider audience or writing about women’s rights in countries like Iran and Afghanistan to ensure these issues remain talked about, I always want to use my writing and work to serve the interests of marginalised communities and that’s what inspires me on a daily basis.
IF YOU COULD GO FOR DINNER WITH A CHARACTER, WHO WOULD YOU PICK AND WHY?
I’d probably choose Amy from Little Women as she seems like a dinner date who would be quite the vibe.
DO YOU HAVE ANY READING RITUALS?
Yes! I tend to read a couple of books a week and the majority of the reading is done on a Sunday which tends to be my reading day. I very rarely make plans on a Sunday as I like to wake up, get ready and head to a local cafe in Muswell Hill for a coffee and I’ll sit at the corner table and read for most of the afternoon. It’s always one of my favourite days of the week.
ALL TIME FAVE READ
Feminism, Interrupted by Lola Olufemi
CURRENT READ
Wild Love by Elsie Silver
NEXT ON TBR
Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna