To celebrate South Asian Heritage Month 2025, Hackney Libraries present The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage- In Conversation with Halima Khatun.

For this exclusive event, Halima Khatun will be discussing her writing process with host Amina Pirbhai and reading from her book The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage, the first in her ongoing series The Secret Diary of a Bengali Woman.

The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage is a fresh and captivating debut novel by former journalist Halima Khatun. She explores the complexities of family dynamics, identity, and the eternal search for belonging. This is not your average arranged marriage romance—it's a romcom that breaks barriers and challenges preconceptions.

A British-Bengali girl looking for Mr Right. A motley crew of men, some hoping it’s them. A mum on a mission to match make. And an age-old tradition with a twist. Welcome to the world of the arranged marriage.

Halima Khatun is a former broadcast journalist, working for ITV and the BBC, author, PR consultant and blogger. In short, words are my thing. When she’s not doing all of the above, she holds down her most important – and rewarding job of all – being a mum to my two babies, Ishaaq and Hannah. They’ve been a core part of her writing journey, as she wrote her debut novel – The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage, whilst napping and nursing Hannah. It was published, when she was nine months pregnant with Ishaaq. They are her inspiration to keep writing, keep working, and always aim to do better.

https://halimakhatun.co.uk/books/

Join us online on Tuesday 22 July from 6.15pm-7.30pm