We were delighted to hear Book Edit Writers’ Prize longlisted writer Iqbal Hussain’s recent publication news. His debut novel, Northern Boy, will be published with Unbound in June 2024. Described as ‘Billy Elliot meets Bend It Like Beckham’, the novel is about aiming high and defying expectation.

We caught up with Iqbal to find out more about his path to publication.

The Book Edit (TBE): Have you always written?

Iqbal Hussain (IH): I have, ever since I can remember. As a child, I spent many happy weekends writing my own books “in the style of” The Famous Five, The Three Investigators, The Crimefighters (a great series of now-forgotten children’s books with Roger Moore at the helm!). I’d start with gusto, but then peter out after a few pages. I kept writing, doing a stint on the student newspaper at uni, then as a journalist for several years, specialising in young women’s and children’s magazines. And, in the last few years, I turned my hand to fiction – starting off with short stories, and then longer prose. With age comes persistence, and I can now gladly say I can finish writing a whole book, not just the first chapter!

TBE: Which book was the first to have a real impact on you as a reader, and which as a writer?

IH: The first book that really spoke to me as a reader was Charlotte’s Web. I was mesmerised by the world of the farmyard, and I cried buckets at the end, and then had my heart mended by the hope given in the final chapter. And the book that impacted me most as a writer was Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh. I’ve read and re-read this book, and its sequel, The Long Secret, many times, and I’m still in awe of the writing, the humour, and the insights. I’d never come across a character like Harriet before – she spies on her neighbours, jots down things in a notebook (often mean things!), gets found out but ultimately stays true to herself. Harriet’s adventures made me want to become a writer myself, and I did.

TBE: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

IH: To keep writing and to keep believing. And to not feel bad for not finishing those early drafts of cod-Blyton tales, as all writing experience is valid and even those pastiche pages would go into making me the writer I’ve become.

TBE: Why do you write and what makes it so vital for you?

I often write about my childhood, or about my parents, or their friends. I was born in a Northern mill town, and so much of that history has been erased – literally, as the mills were nearly all demolished, and even the neighbourhood I grew up in was razed to the ground after being bought up on a compulsory purchase order by the council. If I don’t document those things, no-one else will, and those histories, those people, those streets, will all be forgotten. And I can’t let that happen.

TBE: How do you sustain yourself as a writer with all the highs and lows of a writer’s life?

IH: It’s a constant battle against wanting to write full-time and having to be realistic and know I need the day job in order to pay the bills. It’s truly wonderful when you get an acceptance, whether it be for a short story, or a competition placing, or getting a book deal – nothing will ever beat that sense of elation, and of seeing your name in print, or hearing from a reader who connected with something you’ve written. Those highs make the lows – the uncertainty, the rejections, the endless waiting – worth it.

TBE: Can you tell us a bit about your experience of getting published? Has anything been surprising, in a good or bad way?!

IH: I was surprised how long it took for my debut novel, Northern Boy, to be published. This was despite having an amazing agent (Robert Caskie) and having had lots of people in the publishing world help me shape the book into the form it is now. We got no takers when we submitted it to publishers, and in the end it took winning a competition to get the book out there. Having said that, I can think of no better publisher than Unbound with which to launch my novel. The team have shown so much love, care and championing for the book – I feel truly blessed.

TBE: Which fiction writers inspire you currently?

IH: I tend to read far and wide, taking in everything from children’s books to classics to contemporary to non-fiction. I’ve recently enjoyed The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey, which is set in a time and space very similar to that of Northern Boy. Jennie writes with a light touch, and does that nearly impossible job of combining humour with pathos, light-heartedness with seriousness. I’ve also just read The Other Side of Mrs Wood, by Lucy Barker, set in the world of Victorian seances. What a treat that was! Sheep’s Clothing by Celia Dale is a masterclass in observation, dialogue and setting. I’m eking it out so it lasts longer.

TBE: Do you have a particular writing process? Favourite place or time of day to write? Any rituals?

IH: I usually write at the weekends, starting at 9 a.m. and finishing around 5 p.m. – so I treat it very much like a working day. I have a dedicated study, so I’m free to tap away and not bother my partner. No rituals, but I normally listen to music while I write – I never used to, but it’s become easier these days to have music from the period that I’m writing about to help inspire me. Much of Northern Boy is set in the early 1980s, so I listened to a lot of ABBA and Bollywood music while writing it, which my young protagonist, Rafi, also enjoys. I write in Word, which is perfect for my needs. I’ve tried Scrivener and other writing programs, but the learning curve is so steep that I can’t justify spending that much time on them when I could be spending it on writing.

TBE: Are you someone who plans and plots before you write or do you write to discover the story? Or both?!

IH: I’d love to be a planner, and I’m getting better at it, but at heart I’m still someone who jumps in with only a vague idea of where the story’s going. I find the plotting stage at the beginning the most challenging – not the actual writing. But as I’ve written more, I’ve realised the benefits of getting a solid structure down at the outset – that’s not to say it can’t be changed and tweaked as the story develops, but it’s reassuring having a basic skeleton on which to hang the flesh of the story.

TBE: And to finish, what are you working on now?

IH: I’m currently finishing off edits to my debut children’s middle grade novel, The Time Travelling Misadventures of the 7th Son, which my agents (Lucy Irvine and Silvia Molteni from PFD) are hoping to get out on to submission in the next few weeks. So, that’s very exciting. And then there are always short stories in the background. Plus, I need to think about what my next adult book might be – I have some ideas but now I need to do the dreaded plotting to see if they hold water!

Thank you so much, Iqbal. We can’t wait for your novel to come out. To read more about Iqbal’s writing, visit his website here. Or to pre-order your copy of Northern Boy, visit here.

And watch this space for announcements about 2024’s Writers’ Prize later this year.