Natasha SoobramanienNatasha Soobramanien was born and grew up in London, but also lived for a time in both Hong Kong and Hastings. She currently lives in London. She studied English at the University of Hull and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. She staed on after her MA to do a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing, for which she submitted an early draft of Genie and Paul (Myriad, 2012), a retelling (or 'cannibalistic translation') of the French eighteenth-century classic Paul et Virginie by Bernardin de Saint Pierre. While at UEA, Soobramanien met fellow writer Luke Williams, to whose debut novel The Echo Chamber she contributed two chapters. Her contribution was well-received: the Guardian described it as 'quirky, aggressive, funny, demotic... a rollicking read', while the New York Times praised its 'ebullience and erotic fizz', and the Sunday Times named both Soobramanien and Williams 'talented writers to watch'. The novel went on to win the 2011 Saltire Award for Best First Book. The two writers are now collaborating on a novel, Diego Garcia, which tells the history of the island of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago, from its origins in myth to its present status as a British colony, US military base and appropriated homeland of the Chagossian Islanders. Read More Read Less