In conversation with...Gurnaik Johal

“I started writing these stories about London while living in Manchester, so I suppose I was inspired by the two cities.”

- Gurnaik Johal

Image: Gurnaik Johal, © Aashfaria A. Anwar 

Gurnaik Johal is a writer and editor from West London. We Move, his first book, is published by Serpent’s Tail and includes ‘Arrival’, the winner of the 2022 Galley Beggar Press Short Story Award and ‘The Piano’, which was shortlisted for the 2018 Guardian 4th Estate Story Prize.

Tell us about your debut book We Move?

We Move is a collection of interconnected stories set in the West London suburbs around Heathrow Airport. The stories move back and forth over a span of 50 years and across several generations to create a portrait of an ever-changing community.

What inspired you to write the book?

I started writing these stories about London while living in Manchester, so I suppose I was inspired by the two cities. I was reading a lot of stories, watching a lot of movies and TV. To pinpoint an inspiration is hard, I’m constantly borrowing and stealing from any other work I consume.

What authors have inspired you?

Off the top of my head: Yiyun Li, Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, Ben Lerner, Zadie Smith, Ted Chiang, Jhumpa Lahiri.

What is one book everyone should read and why?

I can’t think of one book in particular, but one I thought was quite insightful recently was Esi Edugyan’s Out of the Sun. She provides a lot of nuance and ambivalence to topics that are often made quite clear-cut. There’s one essay in there about passing and Rachel Dolezal which was great.

Where do you feel most inspired to write?

Since the pandemic, I’ve liked writing in public places. Tube carriages, cafes, libraries – I like eavesdropping when I write. When I really need to focus, I go to the British Library and lock my phone away.

What is the best advice you ever received?

 It’s not that deep.

What do you love about London?

 London is several cities at once, which I love. I used to think the thing I liked about it was that so many lives were running alongside each other in parallel. But writing We Move made me realise that our lives are constantly crossing over and intersecting. A better symbol for it all is the Tube Map.

What upcoming projects can we expect to see from you?

 I’m writing a novel about an ancient river that gets brought back to life in modern day India, it’s sort of about the climate crisis, nationalism and empire, among other less serious-sounding things.

What can people expect from We Move: Debut London Literature?

I’d come to our event to get a snapshot of new and fresh writing happening in London. I’m a big fan of the other writers on the line up, but our work is all quite different, so it should be a wide-ranging and engaging event. 

Twitter: @GurnaikJohal

Instagram: @GurnaikJohal

See Gurnaik Johal at We Move: Debut London Literature as part of The Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival. Thursday 20 October, 7.45pm - 9.15pm, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ticketed at £10.  Click here to book.