Durre Shahwar is a writer, speaker, and PhD researcher whose work explores the themes of identity, class, queerness, gender, and mental health. The range varies from essays, short stories, monologues, theatre pieces and everything in between. She is the co-founder of ‘Where I’m Coming From’, the only open mic in Wales to predominantly platform writers of colour. In 2018 and 2019, Durre was the recipient of a Literature Wales’ Writers Bursary, part of the Hay Festival Writers at Work development programme, and part of BBC Writersroom Welsh Voices. Her work has been published in various magazines and anthologies, notably: Just So You Know (as editor), Know Your Place: Essays on the Working Class (Dead Ink Books), We Shall Fight Until We Win (404 Ink), Homes For Heroes 100 (Festival of Ideas). Durre is currently doing her PhD in Creative Writing at Cardiff University and working towards her first narrative non-fiction book about South Asian identities in Wales. In the past, she has worked and written for Metro, British Council Wales, National Theatre Wales, National Museum Cardiff, and Artes Mundi in a variety of roles ranging from workshop facilitation, community engagement, copywriting, writing to commission and performing.

@Durre_Shahwar