Neema Shah - Editor
Neema Shah is an award-winning author and marketer.
Her debut novel Kololo Hill was published in 2021 by Picador and has featured in The Independent, The Irish Times, Marie Claire and Daily Mail among others.
Neema’s work won the Literary Consultancy Pen Factor Live and was shortlisted for the Bath Novel Award, First Novel Prize and York Festival of Writing Best Opening Chapter competitions. Kololo Hill was also longlisted for the Retreat West Novel Prize, Exeter Novel Prize, SI Leeds Literary Prize and York Festival of Writing Pitch Perfect awards.
Her flash fiction won the Curtis Brown #WriteCBC competition and came second prize in the Casket of Fictional Delights, judged by Kit de Waal. Neema developed her writing through the University of East Anglia Writing Fiction course and Jericho Writers Self Edit Your Novel course among others.
She mentors writers including those from under-represented backgrounds and is passionate about building a more diverse publishing industry.
Neema has a Law LLB degree and is a Chartered Institute of Marketing qualified marketer.
Find Nemma on Twitter here: @NeemaMShah
Author image © Alexander James
WHY WE LOVE NEEMA
It’s so exciting to have alumni join our team of editors! Neema is a powerhouse of talent, both as an author and an editor. Using the tricks she learned from our Self-Edit Your Novel course alongside her natural talent for storytelling, she’ll provide insightful feedback on how to take your novel to the next level.
WHAT NEEMA SAYS ABOUT EDITING
I want to use my writing skills, under-represented background and first-hand experience of publishing to help other writers excel.
I’ve been lucky to have all kinds of support from individuals and organisations who were able to help me with writing and getting published. I’ve seen first-hand what the kind of support can do and want to help other writers on the same path.
I’m not what you’d call a ‘typical’ author. I grew up on a council estate for many years and went to state school. I’m keen to help all kinds of writers but particularly those who may not feel that they ‘fit’ the typical mould. I’d love to support others in navigating their way through the opportunities and challenges of writing and publishing.
I love to read both fiction and non-fiction. In particular, I love literary, crime, thrillers and historical fiction and any kind of book that sheds light on a story or a voice we rarely hear.
What Neema works on
Genres Neema specialises in
Neema's published books
Kololo Hill
When you’re left with nothing but your secrets, how do you start again?
Uganda 1972
A devastating decree is issued: all Ugandan Asians must leave the country in ninety days. They must take only what they can carry, give up their money and never return.
For Asha and Pran, married a matter of months, it means abandoning the family business that Pran has worked so hard to save. For his mother, Jaya, it means saying goodbye to the house that has been her home for decades. But violence is escalating in Kampala, and people are disappearing. Will they all make it to safety in Britain and will they be given refuge if they do?
And all the while, a terrible secret about the expulsion hangs over them, threatening to tear the family apart.
From the green hilltops of Kampala, to the terraced houses of London, Neema Shah’s extraordinarily moving debut Kololo Hill explores what it means to leave your home behind, what it takes to start again, and the lengths some will go to protect their loved ones.
