Imran Mahmood

Imran Mahmood (born 1969) is a British novelist and barrister. His first novel You Don't Know Me (2017), which was shortlisted for the Glass Bell Award in 2018, was dramatised by the BBC in 2021.

Biography

Mahmood, whose parents are first-generation immigrants from Pakistan, was born in Liverpool in 1969.[1] Growing up in Liverpool, he attended comprehensive schools.[1][2] After earning his undergraduate degree in 1990 at Kingston University in London, he studied for the bar at the Inns of Court.[3] He is now a barrister, with chambers in Middle Temple, specialising in criminal law and in common law.[1][3] He and his wife live in South East London.[4]

Literary career

In Mahmood's first novel, You Don't Know Me, a young man on trial for murder urgently tells his story to a jury.[5] According to Mahmood, the novel was inspired by young men he defended in London courts.[1] The book's 2017 publication was well received. The Guardian listed it as one of the best crime novels of 2017, calling it "an original take on a courtroom drama that puts the reader in the position of the jury ... a gripping, vivid depiction of London’s gang culture with an authentic feel."[6] Simon Mayo selected it as a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice in 2017.[2] In 2018, it was shortlisted for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, which according to Irish Times "is the only award to reward storytelling in all genres, from romance and crime to historical and speculative."[7] It was also longlisted for the 2018 best crime novel of the year, both by the Crime Writers' Association (for the CWA Gold Dagger award) and by the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award (awarded annually at the Harrogate International Festivals).[2]

In 2020, the BBC announced it would be adapting the book into a four-part dramatisation, to be directed by Sarmad Masud.[8] The four-part series began airing in December, 2021, with lead roles played by Samuel Adewunmi and Bukky Bakray.[9]

Mahmood's second book, I Know What I Saw, is a thriller about a murder in the affluent London district of Mayfair. It was published by Raven Books, the new crime imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing.[2][10] Its narrator, formerly a wealthy banker, meets scepticism when police cannot confirm his account of witnessing murder.[11] The Times recommended it as one of their "Best Thrillers for 2021."[12] Financial Times also praised the book, saying "it affirms his talent."[13]

Mahmood's third book, All I Said Was True, was published in 2022.[9][14]

Bibliography

References
  1. Lea, Richard (4 May 2017). "Imran Mahmood: 'Can the moral question overwhelm legal guilt?'". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2020. Born in Liverpool in 1969 to first-generation immigrants from Pakistan, he downplays the challenges of starting at the bar for a comprehensive-educated, working-class British Asian from the north of England during the early 1990s.
  2. Wood, Heloise (31 January 2020). "Raven Books scoops Imran Mahmood's Mayfair murder thriller". The Bookseller. Retrieved 21 November 2020. Mahmood is a practising barrister with more than 25 years' experience. Born and brought up in Liverpool, he now lives in London. His début novel, You Don't Know Me (Michael Joseph), was chosen by Simon Mayo as a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice, was longlisted for the Theakston crime novel of the year and for the CWA Gold Dagger, 2018 and was shortlisted for The Glass Bell Award, 2018. It is currently being adapted for screen in three parts.
  3. "Catching up with... Imran Mahmood". Kingston.ad.edu. 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2020. I graduated from Kingston in 1990 and then went on to read for the Bar at the only place one could in those days - the Inns Of Court School of Law - and I was lucky enough to pass. Then I got pupillage in London and qualified as a practising barrister. I have been in practice now for 25 years or so in Crime and General Common Law. And then - in May this year I had my debut novel called You Don't Know Me published by Penguin
  4. "Imran Mahmood". Darley Anderson. 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020. He has been working on the criminal bar in London for over 20 years and regularly appears in jury trials across the country dealing in serious and complex criminal cases. He now lives in South East London with his wife and is currently plotting a second novel.
  5. Shaikh, Farhana (4 July 2018). "Abir Mukherjee: British Asian writers to look out for". The Asian Writer. Retrieved 23 November 2020. For me, one of the highlights of the past year was the publication of criminal barrister turned writer, Imran Mahmood's, wonderfully assured debut, You Don't Know Me, which features a young man, brought up on the mean streets of London, on trial for murder... It was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice for 2017 and has been longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year
  6. "The best recent crime novels – review roundup". The Guardian. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2020. Barrister Imran Mahmood's debut novel, You Don't Know Me (Michael Joseph, £12.99), is an original take on a courtroom drama that puts the reader in the position of the jury ... a gripping, vivid depiction of London's gang culture with an authentic feel.
  7. Doyle, Martin (21 November 2020). "John Boyne wins Goldsboro Books prize for 'The Heart's Invisible Furies': £2,000 prize for 'compelling storytelling with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice'". Irish Times. Retrieved 21 November 2020. Now in its second year, the Glass Bell is the only award to reward storytelling in all genres, from romance and crime to historical and speculative.
  8. White, Peter (9 November 2020). "BBC To Adapt Crime Novel 'You Don't Know Me' With 'The Crown' Writer Tom Edge & 'Mrs Wilson' Producer Snowed-In". Deadline. Retrieved 21 November 2020. The BBC is adapting crime novel You Don't Know Me with The Crown writer Tom Edge and Mrs Wilson producer Snowed-In Productions. Deadline understands that the British public broadcaster is remaking Imran Mahmood's novel as a four-part drama.
  9. Gevertz, Jack (5 December 2021). "BBC You Don't Know Me - Imran Mahmood the author behind the book". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 6 December 2021. His third, All I Said Was True, is being released in the summer of 2022. That follows the character of Layla, who is arrested for the death of another character, Amy, following her death on a London office rooftop. Layla says the man behind the crime is named Michael, but police can't find any trace of him. Will she be released or will the truth come out?
  10. Onwuemezi, Natasha (18 November 2016). "Hennessey's new Bloomsbury imprint named Raven Books". The Bookseller. Retrieved 22 November 2020. Raven Books, the new crime imprint from Bloomsbury, will launch in January...[It] will specialise in literary crime, thrillers and suspense...
  11. "I Know What I Saw". Bloomsbury.com. 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020. This is Xander Shute: once a wealthy banker, now living on the streets. As he shelters for the night in an empty Mayfair flat, he hears its occupants returning home, and scrambles to hide as the couple argue. Trapped in his hiding place, he soon finds himself witnessing a vicious murder.Published: 10-06-2021
  12. Owen, James (8 June 2021). "The best thrillers for June 2021". The Times. Retrieved 6 December 2021. as a portrait of vulnerability, it's sympathetically rendered and the resolution surprisingly disturbing.
  13. Forshaw, Barry (7 June 2021). "James Ellroy's cop confessional a return to form". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 December 2021. The violent narrative inexorably grips the attention, and the dialogue is always vividly idiomatic (Mahmood channelling his legal clients?), but it's the examination of the mental state of his intelligent protagonist caught in a downward spiral that affirms his talent.
  14. "The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup". the Guardian. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  15. Illingworth, Harry (31 August 2018). "The Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Shortlist". Goldsboro Books. Retrieved 22 November 2020. Goldsboro Books today announced the six titles shortlisted for the 2018 Glass Bell Award, the prize introduced last year to celebrate the best storytelling across all genres of contemporary fiction...[including] Imran Mahmood for You Don't Know Me, which was longlisted for both a CWA Gold Dagger and the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year
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