Leela Soma

Leela Soma is a Scottish-based writer who was born in Madras[1] (former name for Chennai) in India, and now lives in Glasgow.

Leela Soma
Born
Madras
OccupationWriter, poet
Works
Twice Born
Websitehttp://www.leelasoma.com

Biography

Leela Soma came to Glasgow in 1969 with her husband.[2] She worked, until her retirement, as a teacher of Modern Studies. During this time she took up creative writing under the tutelage of Laura Marney. She followed this with Creative Writing Classes in the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at the University of Glasgow.

Her work 2007 - 2016

She writes novels, poetry and short stories which have been published in a number of anthologies and publications, including The Scotsman, The Grind,[3] New Voices, and Gutter magazine[4] magazine. 'Twice Born' was published through Youwriteon an online publishing company.’ Her second novel ‘Bombay Baby’ was published by Dahlia Publishing Limited in 2011.[5] ‘She was commissioned along with 20 other writers to write a story for Glasgow Women's Library anthology, 21 Revolutions,[6][7] for its 21st birthday in 2013. Her story 'Boxed In' was inspired by three items from the collections "The Suffragette Movement" by Sylvia Pankhurst; 'Traitors to the Masculine Cause: the Men's Campaign for Women's Rights by Sylvia Strauss and a copy of 'The Woman Worker' of 1908. She was part of ‘Butterfly Rammy,’ an Edinburgh Festival Fringe Show (2015) [8] for which she was commissioned to write a short story. Her next work (2016) will be a crime novel set in Glasgow’s West End. She has served on the committee for the Milngavie Books and Arts Festivals, and also on the Scottish Writer’s Centre Committee. Her work reflects her dual heritage of India and Scotland.

Awards

She won the Margaret Thomson Davis Trophy at Strathkelvin Writer’s Group for Best New Writer 2007 for her novel ‘Twice Born'.[9]

Publications
  • Twice Born published by You Write On 2007
  • Bombay Baby published by Dahlia Publishing Limited 2011
  • Boxed In published by The Pot Hole Press 2013
  • Butterfly Rammy 2015

References
  1. "Writer's story makes it into The Scotsman". Milngavie and Bearsden Herald. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2016. Born in Madras, now Chennai, the biggest city in South India, Leela always remembers her roots fondly.
  2. Nanjiani, Shereen (13 December 2014). "Leela Soma Extended Interview". BBC. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  3. "The Grind Magazine".
  4. "Gutter Magazine".
  5. Saadi, Suhayl (22 January 2012). "Book review: Bombay Baby". Scotsman. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  6. "Upcoming Events | 21 Revolutions art exhibition, Edinburgh | Glasgow Women's Library". womenslibrary.org.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  7. Soma, Leela (2014). 21 Revolutions - Boxed In. Glasgow: Freight Books. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-9522273-3-5.
  8. Dunlop, Bill (18 August 2015). "Butterfly Rammy, Stand in the Square, Review". EdinburghGuide.com. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  9. "SKW People". Strathkelvin Writer's Group. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
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