Alom Shaha's Blog, page 4

And so it begins...

A friend of mine I spoke to on the phone last night pointed out that this time next week, I will be a published author. My book will be in shops and people I've never met before will be able to read what is ultimately an incredibly personal story. A book that started out as a straightforward factual "handbook" for people new to atheism has, for what I now think are very good reasons, ended up as a personal narrative of how and why I came to reject the religion I was born into. But, as the journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed has said after reading the book, "The Young Atheist's Handbook is no anti-Muslim misery memoir. Rather its strength is the way [Alom] explores his life and faith scientifically, through a series of thought experiments."

I've spent this week mostly stuck under a duvet, with good books (including Leslie Cannold's Book of Rachael) and lots of tea, in the hope that a cold I've had for over a week will disappear before I head out to Australia. I've also started to give interviews about the book, some of which are already appearing online.

My favourite interview so far has been with my friend Kylie Sturgess, a fellow teacher and multi-talented blogger and podcaster. She's done a fantastic job of making me sound coherent despite the fact that I was still struggling with my cold when I spoke to her. You can listen to the podcast here:

Alternatively, you can download the podcast from Kylie's Token Skeptic site.

Kylie has also used her expertise as a teacher to write a set of teaching notes for The Young Atheist's Handbook which I'll be making available here soon.

Lessons from the Young Atheist's Handbook: Love

This was going to be the third of a series of short video "Lessons from The Young Atheist's Handbook" but since it's Valentine's Day, I'm putting out now.

The animation is by the incredibly talented Jack Kenny and the music is by my wonderful friend Jack Challoner.

Lessons from the Young Atheist's Handbook 1: Death

This is the first in a series of short video "Lessons from The Young Atheist's Handbook" I'll be putting online over the next few weeks as the book goes on sale. The animation is by the incredibly talented Jack Kenny and the music is by my wonderful friend Jack Challoner.

Australia, here I come!

People keep asking me "how come your book's being published in Australia first?" The answer is simple: the lovely Australian Henry Rosenbloom, was the first person to not only say he liked the idea of my book, but also to put his money where his mouth is and agree to publish it. I owe a huge debt to Henry and am delighted to be travelling to Australia to help launch the book - I hope other Australians will respond to it as positively and generously as Henry did.

I'll be travelling around Australia, visiting Perth, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney. Here are the events I know about so far:

Thursday 23rd February:

I'll be on the ABC radio show Sunday Night Safran

Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th February:

Various events at the Perth Writers Festival

Monday 27th February:

6.15 pm, In Conversation with Jonathan Safran at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne

Tuesday 28th February:

1.00 pm Live radio interview on Triple R radio's 'The Banana Lounge'

7.40 pm Live Radio interview with Waleed Aly for 'Drive'
 on ABC Radio National.

Wednesday 29th February:

6.30 pm Canberra Skeptics in the Pub

Thursday 1st March:

6.00 pm Avid Reader Event at 193 Boundary Street  West End QLD 4101 Brisbane

I'm in Sydney on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd March. Get in touch if you'd like me to do an event or interview.

Perth Writers Festival

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The lovely organisers of the Perth Writers Festival have invited me to speak at three events next month:
25th Feb - Has Multiculturalism Failed? 25th Feb - Living a Good Life, without God26th Feb - I Believe in an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out