This collection of essays celebrates 10 years of the SI Leeds Literary prize for unpublished fiction by Black and Asian women writers.

These are important words spoken by important women about the lives they have lived, their experiences, and all the things they’ve really wanted to write about but have had trouble getting commissioned, due to narrow expectations of the publishing industry.

Essays include: Why I Write, Discouragement and Courage, The Versions of Me You Do Not See, Three Wise Women, Writing, Race and Sex.

Contributing writers include Suad Kamardeen, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Gail Boland, Irenosen Okojie, Wenyan Lu, Amita Murray, Mahsuda Snaith, Shereen Tadros, Winnie M Li, Fiona Goh, Saima Mir, Huma Qureshi.