In a double news story Shappi Khorsandi’s novel Nina is Not OK was shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour, however Shappi tweeted that she was withdrawing her book from the list saying: “Massively flattered, but I have respectfully withdrawn my book from this longlist, despite the incredible company it was in.”
It didn’t take long for Shappi’s choice to be queried, so the comedian and writer explained that: “my novel is nothing to do with ethnic identity. Felt like my skin colour was up for an award rather than my book.” Nina is Not OK is about a teenager, Nina who has issues with alcohol. While Nina thinks she is like most 17 year olds who like a drink, one Sunday morning Nina struggles to piece together what happened.
While many people applauded or understood Shappi’s decision some people reacted differently on Twitter. One tweet implied Shappi was trying to ‘bury’ her ethnicity, whilst another person took the opportunity to explain that Shappi was missing an opportunity to celebrate diversity, rather than making a complicated decision about her own work.
We hope Nina is Not OK continues to do well and we look forward to Shappi writing more books in the future.
You can catch Shappi performing her show Oh My Country! From Morris Dancing to Morrissey at Soho Theatre from Tuesday 24th January to Saturday 4th February. For tickets and more information click here!
