Shara Atashi is a translator and writer based in Aberystwyth. She translates from Persian and German and writes creative non-fiction, fiction and poetry in English. She was involved in literary life from early childhood as her father, the late Iranian poet Manouchehr Atashi, was a professor of literature and editor of Iran’s national broadcasting magazine. Shara left Iran with her mother after the 1978 revolution at the age of twelve and lived and studied law and English in Germany. After years of legal work in Berlin and the Hague she relocated to the UK where she joined the Peterborough Writers’ Circle under the guidance of Tim Wilson and began to actively share her writing through local publications and in an anthology.
How do you envisage the programme will help you in terms of your development?
“I hope to improve my craft, and enter the publishing stage as soon as possible.”
What are you most looking forward to as part of the programme? What are you hoping to achieve by taking part?
“I look forward to all the elements as a whole as they are all aimed at professional development providing expert knowledge about the industry as well as help with the craft. I look forward to meeting the others and networking with them. We surely can support and inspire each other.”
As a writer, where would you like to be in 5 years?
“I wish to become a paid essayist, and hope that my novel will be published by then. I also hope that my days will be filled more with more writing.”