Hafsa Zayyan, Will You Read This, Please?

A frank and impactful collection of twelve stories as told to our best British writers, Will You Read This, Please? is based on the lived experience of people who have faced mental illness. It shines a light on the stigma and isolation of living with mental illness while also showing the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

Join contributing author, Hafsa Zayyan (We Are All Birds of Uganda) for an open and honest conversation about mental health and the power of giving a platform to unheard voices.

This event will include an audience Q&A. After the event there will be an opportunity to get your book signed by Hafsa Zayyan.

Listen Up! We are delighted to be partnering with Colchester Samaritans and Essex Cultural Diversity Project for this very special day of events. Part of Colchester Samaritans 60th anniversary celebrations.

Saturday 8 June, 5.30pm

Venue: Samaritans, Walsingham Road Community Hall, 34 Walsingham Road, Colchester, CO2 7BN
Tickets: £8 / £7 concessions (Students, Under 27s and Unwaged)
Box Office: essexbookfestival.org.uk or Mercury Theatre 01206 573948

Will You Read This, Please? Edited by Joanna Cannon

Published 11 May 2023 (The Borough Press)

Order a copy of Will You Read This, Please? at bookshop.org

How do we give a voice to those who so often remain unheard?

Will You Read This, Please? is a frank and impactful collection of twelve stories as told to our best British writers, based on the lived experience of people who have faced mental illness in the UK.

Edited by Joanna Cannon, ex-psychiatrist and the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, this is a ground-breaking and unforgettable collection, shining a light on the stigma and isolation of living with mental illness, while also showing the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

Working in collaboration with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Joanna Cannon and The Borough Press took open submissions from mental health service users in the UK who wanted to tell their story.

Each of the final 12 storytellers was paired with an award-winning author to help them to tell the story in their own words.

The stories shine a light on a range of illnesses that aren’t often discussed in the press, from postpartum psychosis, to schizophrenia, to harm OCD.

Contributing authors: Tracy Chevalier, Catherine Cho, Hafsa Zayyan, Clare Mackintosh, Ben Johncock, Rhik Samadder, Jenn Ashworth, Shelley Harris, Selali Fiamanya, Rebecca Pert, Kathryn Mannix

Storytellers: Sarah, Jeremy, Jen, Marie, Franki, Nicola, Cat, Oyinda, Lewis, Sanmeet, Alain, Joyia.

‘Some people who deal with mental illness have the opportunity and ability to write about it, but many do not – and it was those people, those unread stories, I wanted to find’ – Joanna Cannon

‘Acknowledging – let alone writing about – mental health in such an open and honest way – remains a taboo in certain communities, and in particular in communities that are often already marginalised by society – this book gives a platform to those unheard voices and asks all communities to read these incredibly important stories’ – Hafsa Zayyan

About Hafsa Zayyan

Hafsa Zayyan is half-Nigerian, half-Pakistani and was born and raised (mostly) in the UK. She is a dispute resolution lawyer working in the City of London, and the author of We Are All Birds of Uganda, which won the MerkyBooks inaugural New Writer’s Prize.

Kindly supported by Colchester City Council Cultural and Creative Events Fund