During her time in college, author and artist Shubnum Khan propelled a series of unpredictable and bizarre events when she signed up for a photoshoot. Her book, How I Accidentally Became a Global Stock Photo and Other Strange and Wonderful Stories, acquaints the readers with the misadventure that led to her photographs suddenly being used on billboards and advertisements all over the world. However, this is but one of the many intriguing stories from her part memoir and part travelogue, both eccentric and enlightening in equal measure. While she takes the readers on this ride imbued with humour and hope, she also sheds insightful light on the existence of a single Muslim woman in today’s world.
We connected with her to know more about the book:
THE CONCEPTION
I was approached by Pan Macmillan to write a book after I started sharing all my strange and funny adventures on Twitter. In the beginning, I simply thought it was going to be a collection of these stories, but, as I began working on it, it started to evolve into something else — a part memoir and part travelogue of how I was trying to be brave and finding my way in the world. I began to write about being single and being a female traveler, and it quickly became something much bigger. It allowed me to reflect over my life and put parts together, and I’m grateful for that.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
The only way I could finish this book was by leaving social media for a few months and reading a lot of books. I read more than seventy books last year (when I wrote this book), most of them being memoirs. Social media was really dragging me down, so I needed to be in a clear space to write this book, and reading so many books while writing mine helped me get a feel for what I wanted to write. I really had to cut the distractions out because I am so easily distracted.
Then, I struggled in the beginning to find my “voice”. I wavered because I was never sure if this was a “funny” book or a “serious, thoughtful” book. It’s only when I realised that I could try to make the two work together, that things began flowing. It helped when I found the voice that truly reflected me — I do think life can be so funny at times, but I’m also looking for meaning and connection wherever I can.
THE CORE
Hope. All these stories are about trying to put the lights back on when you feel like they’ve been switched off. I am afraid at every step of the journey, but every time I try to be brave or try to embrace who I am, strange and wonderful things happen. I think it’s always good to remind others not to let go of that hope you carry, no matter how dark it seems.
THE HOPE
I hope the book reminds readers that anything is possible. If you want a life of magic and adventure, you have to believe it can happen. When you start thinking anything can happen, it does!
This article is an exclsuive from our October EZ. To read more such articles follow the link here.
Text Nidhi Verma
Date 15-10-2021