Anjum's on the Write Track

ANJUM Malik grew up writing the kind of diary she thought everyone wrote – until she realised her prose was more like poetry, rather than a daily account of her life.

Those initial diaries, however, sparked an interest which Anjum has now developed into a fully fledged career, although it took her many years to realise she wanted to be a writer.

“I’ve done all sorts of jobs, from selling shoes, working in burger bars, to being a police officer and a business woman. I couldn’t explain it at the time, but I changed jobs and where I was living every few years because I really felt I had to. Now I know I was training to be a writer!” confides Anjum, who has starting to see the fruits of her labour gaining national recognition.

Last week, Radio 4 (Drama) made daily broadcasts of the Manchester writer’s latest series, The Interpreter, and this week regional screen agency, Northwest Vision and Media, have chosen Anjum as their Crew of the Month, promoting the Northwest writer’s talents across the industry.

“It’s wonderful to be getting recognition for my work,” says Anjum. “As any writer will tell you, working alone and producing pieces that are usually very personal to you, can be quite isolating. So it nice to know that other people are backing you, and enjoy what you produce.”

After taking a scriptwriting MA at Leeds School of Film and television, Anjum had her first short film, Escape To Somerset, commissioned and broadcast by HTV in 1999. It was enough to give her a real taste of the industry, setting the scene for her future career.

“I’ve been hustling ideas ever since,” she grins. “My mind is constantly thinking of new stories and intriguing characters, which I package together then try to make commissioners as passionate about my stories as I am. It’s sometimes an uphill struggle, but I just can’t stop,” she says.

Indeed, it’s Anjum’s relentless pursuit of her next writing project which has allowed her to build up an eclectic and exciting array of commissions – in every genre, and every medium. From radio to TV, film to poetry and stage, Anjum Malik has had success in it all.

As one of the original writers for the BBC’s Asian radio soap, Silver Street, Anjum spent three years keeping listeners hooked on the comings and goings of the Chauhans and Jilanis’. Last year, however, she left the radio drama team in order to concentrate on writing her own original scripts.

“My second series of The Interpreter, an original drama series for Radio 4’s Women’s Hour, was broadcast every day in the last week of January,” she explains.

“It’s been fabulous to get a chance to work with some of the best radio production staff at the BBC, and some very talented actors too. It’s been a real dream come true, because I never thought I would have my work on BBC Radio 4 – a station I use to listen to it as a child all those years ago!“

The series, The Interpreter II, was Anjum’s second for Woman’s Hour, telling the story of a freelance interpreter, a job Anjum did for 15 years. She’s also written four other radio plays for Radio 4.

In 2004, after winning funding from Northwest Vision and Media to develop her first screen play, Biraderi, Anjum realized she had a talent for TV and last year she won her first commission for BBC’s day-time drama, Doctors.

But it’s not only radio and TV where Anjum’s interest lies. She’s written for theatre too. “My stage credits include two monologues for the People’s History Museum in Manchester,” says Anjum, who is currently working with Birmingham Rep as one of their new writers on attachment.

Writing poetry is another of her passions. Her first poetry collection Before the Rains, was published in 1996, and a second series commemorating Bradford’s centenary Spirit of Bradford, hit the bookshops the following year.

She’s also got three feature films, a TV drama in development, and a new collection of poetry on its way. Currently she’s devoting a lot of her time to Vision and Media’s Digital Shorts film initiative. After being short-listed for future funding to make her short film, Iron Man, Anjum is working hard to further develop her story.

“It would be wonderful to be able to make Iron Man. That’s not just because I think it’s a fascinating story, a unique drama that poetically explores the themes of love and dreams, but because the experience gained by making a short film is invaluable when it comes to trying to secure a feature.

Everything I learn throughout my writing always has seems to play a part somewhere down the line in a future project. And if I’m fortunate enough to get funding for my Digital Short, I’m convinced this will help me greatly in the future, too.”