DEBUT JOURNEYS Nazima Pathan
For this month’s Debut Journeys Mario Ambrosi talks to Nazima Pathan whose book Dream Hunters publishes August 2024 by Simon & Schuster.
Where are you now and where did you write your book?
I am based in Cambridge, UK, and wrote and edited Dream Hunters over the course of the last couple of years.
What’s it all about? (Your book, that is!)
Set
in an alternate version of India, Dream Hunters is a story of 12 year-old Mimi
Malou who lives in the Citadel, a hidden community of magicians who hunt and
recast forgotten dreams using magical mirrors and dream hooks. When someone
starts collecting nightmares instead, it’s a recipe for murder, and Mimi must
try and stop them before a King is assassinated and her parents framed for his
death.
Tell us about your route to publication
I
am a doctor and researcher and spent some time during an internship working at
the BBC for health news articles. This gave me the writing bug, though I
decided to pursue fiction instead of journalism. I took courses with Golden
Egg, had a mentorship with Megaphone and took an editing course with the
Novelry which really helped me refine my story. I was lucky enough to get
funding from the arts council DYCP programme which supported my development and
allowed me to work with Catherine Coe to publish the novel and submit it to
agents.
Dream
Hunters isn’t my first novel. My previous one got some agent full requests but
no rep, and a small offer of publication from an independent publisher. I
wanted to make sure I had a bigger debut and agent representation.
So
I put that first novel aside and wrote Dream Hunters, which gave me much more
excitement to craft and I think this helped me write better. It was longlisted
in the Writementor and Times/Chickenhouse awards (under its previous name, The
Library of Forgotten Dreams). This helped my confidence to submit it to agents,
and it had much more success in terms of interest.
I
was delighted to sign up with Chloe Seager at the Madeleine Milburn agency and
we worked on it through several rounds of edits, submitting in June 2023, and
being offered publication by Simon and Schuster.
The book came out 1st August and it has been an amazing process working with my editors, the designers and illustrators as well as the marketing and publicity team. It takes a village to craft a book and I am in awe of the talented people who have been enthusiastic about Dream Hunters and bringing my ideas alive.
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What do you do when you’re not writing?
I
am parent to two teens and a majestic kitten. Alongside these important duties
I work as a children’s doctor and researcher in Cambridge.
What was the biggest bump in the road when it came to getting your book out into the world and how did you overcome it?
Publishing
is a drawn out process, so patience is key. The cover illustrations have taken
a while for various reasons, but I am excited by the work of my illustrator,
Federica Frenelli. She’s caught the heart of the book beautifully.
Any tips for budding writers hoping to follow in your footsteps?
I
think resilience is important and yet every rejection feels so personal. I
would say, take care of yourself, make time for writing regularly (when
drafting I try to commit at least an hour a day, when editing it takes bigger
chunks of time, mainly the weekends) and don’t sweat the first draft, just get
it down. You can fix it all in the edits. Finally, don’t linger over one novel
for too long, put it aside and write something fresh – a plan, an idea, short
stories, poetry – whatever you feel is needed, you can always come back to your
novel later with fresh eyes.
What’s next for you?
I am editing the sequel to Dream Hunters and also crafting an idea for a
new novel. I want to keep writing, and love being part of this Kid Lit
community.
Nazima Pathan was born in India and raised in London, moving later to Cambridge where she lives with her husband and two children. She is a children’s doctor and researcher but has always enjoyed reading and writing stories. In a way, science when conveyed well is a tale of the “whys”, the “hows” and “therefores”.
But children’s stories are special and important and fun, and after
learning the craft of writing fiction through Golden Egg Academy, Megaphone and
the Novelry, Nazima found a home in creating magical stories for
curious children who believe in the right to dream.
Follow her on Instagram and Twitter or www.titaberredo.com
Contact her at: illuscoordinator@britishscbwi.org
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