Shreya’s column for newspapers in the romantic month of February is about the deepest friendships

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Pic: With her “all-time bestest friend”

“So what’s my criteria for bonafide buddies (ask yourself the same Q and you might find your life satisfactorily simplified)? I had an interesting exchange with writer Hanif Kureishi on social media more than a decade ago, when I was new to Facebook and he wasn’t (or was just inherently wiser). He insisted it was impossible to make genuine friends on social media and I scoffed at this, naively believing back then to have found whole hordes of them. After over a decade of middling and unfortunate experiences on platforms I can no longer be bothered to frequent, I recognise that the Buddha of Suburbia was spot on…”

Please click here to read the article in full.

Shreya is Head Judge for New Writers UK Flash Fiction Competition 2025

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A photo of Shreya Sen-Handley taken at the Bromley House Library in Nottingham. This photo was taken for the purpose of a competition named Nottingham Women Writers Photography Project May 2023.

There are hundreds of entries already in, and if you are interested in participating, there are a few days left before the deadline! Please click here for the details and what Shreya as Head Judge hopes to find in the stories sent in, as well as about her long and varied writing career in an interview taken by New Writers UK

Photo and caption by Olivia Rose Barns, Shreya is holding her collection of short stories, ‘Strange’ (aka. ‘Strange:Stories’), published by HarperCollins in 2019

Professors of Durham and Bath Universities explore Shreya’s first book, ‘Memoirs of My Body’ (HarperCollins 2017) on vodcast

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Maker:S,Date:2017-9-3,Ver:6,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar02,E-ve

Over Christmas 2024, a British and a South African professor from the University of Durham (est.1832) and the University of Bath, discovered Shreya’s debut book ‘Memoirs of My Body’ (HarperCollins 2017) and decided to devote a whole episode of their Feminist Sports Lab book club vodcast to its exploration.

Professor Stephen Mumford, Head of Philosophy at Durham University, and Dr Sheree Bekker, Professor in the Department for Health at the University of Bath, authors of several successful books, talk about Shreya’s first book and its “incredible feminist writing” in an insightful, easy yet scholarly conversation. In their introduction to their discussion of the book, they have said:

“In this episode of FSL Book Club, Sheree Bekker and Stephen Mumford dive into Shreya Sen-Handley’s bold and evocative book, Memoirs of My Body. They discuss how this deeply personal memoir explores themes of identity, self-expression, and the evolving relationship we have with our bodies. Through candid storytelling and cultural critique, Sen-Handley’s work challenges societal norms and celebrates the power of self-acceptance. Sheree and Stephen reflect on the book’s impact, sharing their own insights on its relevance to body image, autonomy, and liberation. If you’re curious about the intersections of culture, feminism, and personal growth, this conversation is for you.”

Please click here for the snappy yet in-depth chat

Shreya speaks to a packed British high school hall about creative careers and leadership for women, on a panel assembled by Britain’s biggest literacy charity, National Literacy Trust, and cosmetics giant Lancôme

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She had this to say afterwards, “Lovely to get a thank you note from the National Literacy Trust, about my involvement with the Women in Leadership programme — ‘Your contribution definitely made a difference to the young people there!’. Even lovelier was the on-the-day feedback from the hundred (or so) young delegates who declared that they found my words and career “inspiring” and came across after the talk to chat some more about work and life (and book and film recommendations)! A thought-provoking and rewarding event, run by Lancôme and the National Literacy Trust.”

Shreya’s year-end wrap-up column for newspapers in 2024 is a satirical look at alternative awards for the powerful

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“Awards more fitting, I promise you, than the outrageous annual payments they gift themselves (do I smell a Muskrat or is that $56bn in ill-gotten gains?), or the made-much-of awards that are handed out like party favours amongst the One Per Cent. These poor little rich prats might have cornered the world’s resources, but have they got what they truly deserve? NO, but I’m not that bitch Karma, sadly, so I can’t deliver just desserts.

Yet, ask yourself, what do you give someone who has EVERYTHING? Here are six prizes so perfect for avaricious fat cats and ruthless despots that they’ve never even considered them…”

Read it in full here

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/columnists/shreya-sen-handley-alternative-awards-for-the-year-end-warp-up-1848692?fbclid=IwY2xjawHWevRleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHa0c0AW4mTo7fZwkL65CVZre0LAFJKm9F24VOdyEIVAqgeUUhj-zBJet8A_aem_BugfeokIo_wL9URfHqo-iQ

Shreya’s column for newspapers in November is about saving the planet in her own distinctive voice

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Image of Kanchenjunga, world’s third highest peak, by Stephen Handley in 2024

Shreya writes a monthly column for several widely circulated international newspapers, in this penultimate one for 2024, written just after Trump’s re-election and her own trip to the Himalayas, she puts forward a plan to protect our mental health, save the planet and survive Trump. To read it in full, please click here

Online Writing Clinic Next Tuesday

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Image: Teaching creative writing at Nottingham Writers Studio for the last decade

Shreya is hosting an online writing clinic next Tuesday 19 November 2024 for anyone anywhere who writes short fiction and might need some encouragement, inspiration, or problem-solving from an author, columnist and teacher of over 30 years of experience. Do check out the details if it’s of interest https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-writers-clinic-short-fiction-edition-tickets-1036167363477

Shreya’s column for newspapers in September is about the politics of apologies and the logistics of REVENGE!

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One reader from the US had this to say about it: “”I really enjoyed her piece. She captured a dynamic that is very much related to the United States non-apology, non-reparations for slavery and for Native decimation. And her conclusion was beautifully bloodless. Wrestling with the past and not getting dragged down yourself in a victim-spiral is not easy. She seems to have her head on straight and now she can continue to get her peaceful revenge!”

Another one from India stated, “Extraordinary article! Monte Cristo has been my inspiration for as long as I can remember: I actually consider it the bible for the wronged, the finest revenge manual ever written. I am entirely with you, there’s nothing quite like revenge, the getting even in a soul-satisfying way. All this ‘sorry’ nonsense, and forgiveness bla is for wimps.”

Please click here to read the article

Image: E.T. or the author??

Shreya’s column for newspapers in August is about stumbling into The King’s loo and wondering what all our bathrooms reveal about us

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“The bus trip from Nottingham to London had taken many long hours more than I’d expected and I desperately needed the bathroom as soon as we got to the British royal residence. Vaguely waved towards a corridor, I dived in through the first door I suspected led to a toilet, to find myself in a time warp…”

Please click here to read the article in full.

Image: From The British Media, the author can be seen in the front row, with The Queen at the centre

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/columnists/shreya-sen-handley-the-kings-plumbing-and-other-toilet-tales-1818786