With tales of the marginalised, Aishah Zainal is off to a flying start

MALAYSIANSKINI | Not many have experienced the sort of meteoric rise experienced by Ipoh-based author Aishah Zainal.

Her debut novel Hades made it to the longlist for the Dublin Literary Award 2024, something the 27-year-old really couldn’t have anticipated when she signed with local publisher Gerakbudaya.

Hades is a gritty tale set in a world of low-cost flats and centres around the relationship between troubled teen Kei and single mother Maryam. She calls it a tale of the underdogs and what living in poverty can do to people.

In an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, Aishah said the motivation to get her book out came partly from her late grandfather who was an unpublished author with big dreams, yet settled down to a life tending the Taiping Lake Gardens.

She said in this world, the potential achievements of many people are lost due to their poverty...