Mahsuda Snaith is a writer of novels and short stories. Her debut novel 'The Things We Thought We Knew' was released in 2017 when she was named an 'Observer New Face of Fiction'. Her second novel 'How to Find Home' was chosen as a BBC Radio 4 'Book at Bedtime'. She is the winner of the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2014 and Bristol Short Story Prize 2014.

Mahsuda has led creative writing workshops in universities, hospitals, schools and a homeless hostel and has worked as a writing mentor for a variety of writing organisations. She has also released a series of short, YouTube writing workshops open and accessible for all.

She is a commissioned writer for the Colonial Countryside project and her short story is included in 'Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold' which is also available as a podcast from Audible. Mahsuda lives in Leicester and is currently working on her third novel.

Mahsuda is an ambassador for The Reading Agency's Reading Ahead programme and a contributor to the Quick Reads short story collection, A Fresh Start, in 2020. Find out more about Mahsuda at readingahead.org.uk.

What do you love about reading? 

"One of the reasons I didn't discover I was dyslexic until my early 20's was because I always loved reading and escaping into story, I was just slower than others at it. The reason I loved reading from an early age was because of the way that reading can transport you to another perspective, another city or country, how you can live another life with a whole host of characters you didn't know before without leaving the comfort of your room."

Why have you chosen to be an ambassador for Reading Ahead? 

"I'm a British-Bangladeshi writer who was brought up on a Midlands council estate and discovered I had dyslexia in my early 20's. On paper, it seems impossible that someone like me would become a published writer but I had a love of reading and writing that drove me forward.

I love the work The Reading Agency do to make reading fun and accessible to all and, in particular, groups that find reading challenging or think it's just not for them. I hope that I can help spread the joy of getting your head stuck in a story - and the pleasure and knowledge that can come from that - to as many people as possible."

Find Mahsuda on Twitter, Instagram @mahsuda, or through her website.