Answering questions about The Bruising of Qilwa!
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website | instagram | linktree | NEW! order the glade | order the bruising of qilwa | order the white guy dies first | tip jar Welcome to the Tuesday Telegrams, a semimonthly newsletter from award-winning author Naseem Jamnia. You're currently reading a writing-related Telegram, where I update you on projects, offer behind-the-scenes looks, delve into craft, and other publishing and writing topics. Earlier this month was the three-year anniversary of The Bruising of Qilwa. It is a marvel to me that three years have passed since this book was published and even more a marvel that new readers are still stumbling across it. I'm always delighted every time it pops up for queer and trans reads and hope it'll continue to find the readers who need it. Now that it's out in Spain (from Crononauta!), I hope there will be more opportunities for readers around the world to experience Firuz and their story. I don't do a lot on social media—I actually am starting to transition off of Instagram to only have BlueSky, although I may stay on IG now that they have a repost feature only to re-share news and resources—but I did ask if anyone had any questions about Qilwa or the larger world that they'd like answered, and that I'd answer them today! You are so selective of the moments the reader sees in Qilwa, but the book covers what feels like a wide expanse of time. How do you think about telling a big story in such a small space?Thanks to Robin for this question! It's so thoughtful and could be a whole essay on its own. (Arguably, my answer is a whole essay!) The structure of Qilwa is based in two other works: Neon Yang's The Black Tides of Heaven and Dragon Age 2. Black Tides covers 35 years of time in a novella-length space. Dragon Age 2 spans ten years through the course of its game. What I loved about the latter was seeing the way the setting changed (and stayed the same) with that decade of time, and the ways in which actions earlier in the game would have consequences later—years down the line. Black Tides is considerably more ambitious in its scope, and whole novels could take place in the gaps of time between each part. It's truly a brilliant feat of storytelling. Black Tides focuses on key relationships of and turning points in the narrator's life, showing us those and leaving the epic fantasy parts off the page. As a result, we have more of a character portrait, understanding the world and its conflicts through the tensions the narrator experiences. I was really moved by these two explorations, one where changes in time can reflect changes in larger political situations and how they affect everyday life, but those changes only happen with time, and are not necessarily obvious right away; the second where the key moments in a character's life are illuminated and the bulk of the "action" is left off the page to make the point that the story is about the people within it, and how characters change with time because of the other events they participate in. I knew that Qilwa was going to cover at least a few years in time in order to explore similar themes and focuses. Truly, if the stakes involving the blood-bruising didn't need to feel high, I might have expanded it out to cover more time. (As it is, I think you can make the argument that those stakes are still a slow build.) The story I wanted to tell regarding the latter was about the consequences of untrained scientific (magical) experimentation to pose questions about ends and means and impact and intent. I also wanted to show the way that the city of Qilwa shifted with its new population, and the way Firuz as a narrator's life changed slowly with time, and also didn't change in many ways (e.g. their mother is never present). The Bruising of Qilwa was never meant to be an epic fantasy; it's a slice-of-life exploration of migrant life within a hostile but changing city, centering the experience of healthcare workers during a plague. The scope of the story had to remain within that, and it does—but like life, there are larger implications, because there is a larger world out there that the characters are moving through, even if we don't necessarily experience that larger world as readers. But there is one reason that Qilwa feels like a big story, even though it's not: the pressures of marginalization and burnout pressing upon Firuz's life. Moving through the world as a multi-marginalized person can often feel like life is bursting at the seams. That's why the book "covers" so many topics, but I have "covers" in quotes because only those who are unaffected by those topics can say that it was too big for the book. In our world, I am a queer, nonbinary trans, fat, neurodivergent, chronically ill, Muslim, and racialized. I'm also light-skinned, married to a cis man, not visibly transitioned, able to move without a motility device, able to mask, and don't wear a hijab. When I walk through the world, especially given where I live, I'm very aware of the ways in which some of my identities and experiences are invisible and some are rendered visible, but I am always aware of all of them. Thus, I can't afford to not be aware of the various forces at work when I, say, walk through a grocery store, even though, in that moment, there isn't necessarily someone screaming slurs into a megaphone. Within their own context, Firuz is marginalized by ethnicity, migration status, and magical affinity, not by their queerness, transness, fatness, and to some extent, their neurodivergence and disability (c-PTSD). But because the political pressures of their immediate world is about the elements that make them marginalized, those forces are rendered visible in the story, even if they aren't necessarily the ones tackled. Will there ever be a sequel?I love that Rainbow Crate asked this question—they're the ones who created Qilwa's beautiful special edition hardcover! The short answer is: I sure hope so! The long(er) answer is: I have been working on a (standalone?) sequel over the past couple of years, but my agent isn't sure it works on its own, which means I don't know how much effort I'll put into it at this stage. I had to make a major change to the story that I was envisioning because the antagonist is a major character in another book that hasn't yet sold, and my agent is concerned about potential copyright issues should we manage to sell that one. So I'm reimagining the sequel with a new antagonist, which has led me to consider what a Kofi prequel might look like. Whether these will ever see the light of day is a different question—much of it depends on being able to create a story that still is readable on its own for new readers while welcoming back old ones. I have more FAQs on my website!Bookish Auction for Gaza, immigrants, and trans rights.The We the People Summer Fundraiser is now live! I've donated a LOT of things and hope y'all will bid on them so we can raise some good money. I DO ship internationally!
The audiobook for The Bruising of Qilwa is also 50% OFF until September 5! If you pick up a copy and send me a receipt, I'll donate money toward the Sameer Project. (My email that I use for this newsletter is currently misbehaving, so please send that to naseem.jamnia@gmail.com until I am able to fix this email and transition off of Google entirely! That's a larger project.) Upcoming EventsI'm going to be doing a short lecture on my theory of cultural storytelling for Tin House in October! If you're interested and also want to attend a month's worth of talks from some incredible voices in speculative fiction, then check out their autumn lecture pass here. Begins September 3! Solidarity CornerIf you have organizations or causes you'd like me to spotlight here, please send those links my way. We get through these things when we do so together. To help Palestinians facing genocide:
To help others:
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