afshan d’souza-lodhi was born in Dubai and bred in Manchester. She is a writer of plays and poetry, and was recently commissioned to write and direct a short film for Channel 4 (An Act of Terror) and a radio play for BBC Sounds (Chop Chop). afshan has edited many anthologies and has an essay featured in Picador’s collection by Muslim women called Its Not About The Burqa. Her debut poetry collection [re: desire] published by Burning Eye Books seeks to investigate the yearning to love, be loved and belong from desi (South Asian) perspectives. Her most recent play, Santi & Naz, described as “tender yet sharply political” by The Guardian, puts female friendship against the backdrop of the partition of India and Pakistan. Through light and humorous touches, the piece comments upon homosexuality and its recent legalization in India. afshan has completed residencies at Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester LGBT History Month and has worked with Eclipse Theatre, Tamasha Theatre Company and Paul Burston’s Polari. As well as her own writing, afshan is keen to develop other younger and emerging artists and sits on the boards of Manchester Literature Festival and Pie Radio. afshan also sits on the steering committee for Northern Police Monitoring Project, an independent campaigning and advocacy organisation that challenges police harassment and violence.