Balsam Karam’s novel Event Horizon (Fitzcarraldo) is about 17-year-old Milde, who comes from the Outskirts, a place where mothers and daughters are banished from society, and make their living without rights, access to care, or legal status. But Milde refuses to accept the order of things, and together with two friends, she revolts against the government’s injustice.
What gave you the idea for your book?
Event Horizon is my debut; I wrote it for many years and sometimes the idea shifted. But I always kept coming back to different political movements and the question of belonging, as well as issues of migration, solidarity and loss. Since I’m also a space nerd, I ended up with a story that (for better or worse) tries to combine them all.
Where and when do you write?
I prefer to write in the morning, right after I drop the kids off at school and drink my first cup of coffee. Mostly I write at home, but since I work part-time at Gothenburg University, I sometimes write on trains or wherever I find the time.
Were any other writers or artists inspiring you while you wrote?
Many! I love the works of Toni Morrison and the Swedish author Willy Kyrklund. I also read a lot of bell hooks, George Jackson and Antonio Gramsci while writing.
What keeps you going when it gets difficult?
Mostly the fact that being without writing (and art in general) is harder than to be in the thick of it. I also think a lot of Tim Gunn from Project Runway, one of my favourite reality TV shows. Whenever the participants were in doubt, he told them to ‘make it work’. My writing lives by that advice – to make sure that my books, in the end, work.
How much do you revise?
To begin with, a lot. When I’ve found the right form, it tends to get better. But I am somewhat of a perfectionist and therefore busy up until the very end.
How did you get published?
I sent the manuscript for Event Horizon to three of the biggest publishing houses in Sweden. Three days later, one of them called and said they were ready with a contract. I feel very blessed for that.
What’s the last really good book you read?
Planterhaug by the Sámi author Sigbjörn Skåden. Amazing book by an amazing author.
What’s a book more people should read?
Cold Nights of Childhood by the Turkish author Tezer Özlü. Absolutely mesmerizing.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Please keep going! And think of your writing as part of a future authorship, where your first book is only the beginning of all you have to say and give.
Favourite place in London?
All the museums!
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