Anirban Mukhopadhyay is an artist from Cardiff. A Fiction Writer, Actor, Playwright, Director and Tabla Percussionist. He also works as a qualified Solicitor of England and Wales and as an accountant. Anirban believes that storytelling can bring people together and help remove social isolation; this is why he has been actively working with local communities for the past 9 years through different forms of storytelling, e.g. community creative writing, theatre and literature groups. As a result, Anirban has been able to write and direct plays in Bengali and English which have been staged in the UK and India.
Project Name: Crime Fiction: Today and Yester Years
Project Location: Cardiff
About the Project:
As an early career Crime Fiction writer, Anirban will use the Platforming Under-represented Writers funding to enhance his knowledge of the genre. Anirban will conduct 10 literary sessions and workshops involving a focus group of 15 literature enthusiasts, readers and writers from diverse social and occupational backgrounds living in Wales. Through the nature of the discussions, Anirban aims to gain an insight into the interests of a wide-scale readership for his genre.
Anirban will then receive mentoring from an Indian Crime Fiction writer, Mr Gunjan Dasgupta, who has written in different formats and for Indian and non-Indian readers. This will allow him to explore diverse writing styles under the expertise of an established writer. He’ll also attend an evening discussion with award-winning journalists and writers, Duncan Campbell and Joanna Jolly, on real-life crime writing to gain an insight into their writing techniques, and network with the audience.
To improve his overall technique, and to prepare a writing portfolio, Anirban will undertake a series of Crime Fiction Writing workshops to support his future development.
What you hope to achieve through this project?
“This project will equip me with the knowledge and understanding of Crime Fiction from a writer’s perspective. It will help me understand the mind-set and expectations of readers, and the groundwork on which readers can be engaged.”
What impact do you think the opportunity will have on your career as a writer/artist?
“It will help me to understand the acceptable format of literary presentation for wide-scale readership. The constructive discussion will improve my sense of expression and style of writing. I will also receive a written assessment report from the tutor which will help me immensely as a Crime Fiction Writer.”