What we are up to!

It is exciting to see people with talent and the will to write joining hands to create beautiful art and literature.

That being said, I announced last year that Beyond Sanity Publishing is accepting submissions for a paperback anthology of the best work submitted. Last date to submit was May 31st. So right now I am going through hundreds of different poems and stories to see what comes where. I will announce the final list in July!

So that leaves us with little over a week. way too much to do, so little time. Beyond Sanity Publishing is currently working on the following projects:

• The Youth Of Pakistan by Hafiza Noor.ul.Ain
• Psychaotic by Irum Zahra (2nd Edition)
• The Tales of Crucified Blunt by Areesh Fatmee
• Five Wishes and the prophecy of the prince by Faran Kiani
• Out of the labyrinth by Zoha Hidayat and Saja Ali
• Reneging Quiescence by Dr. Samiha Zubair
• Eliminating Riba- A Way Forward by Summan Waseem

Many other projects are in pipeline as well, including my personal favorite, Humans of ICG. I studied in Islamabad College for girls for 12 years and it was a long long time. I learnt so much and I went through so many emotional changes during that time. ICG was and is a place where we made friends, had endless gossip sessions, motivational pep talks sessions, Oh and the students week was the best of all. Funfairs, concerts, book fairs. What was not there?

Sadly, not me anymore. Everyone graduated and then their sisters are there and their cousins and the cycle goes on. The story goes on. So I decided to make a Facebook platform where everyone who has attended ICG can submit a story of their time in ICG and other students can read and share and relate to the same things.

We have also started a giveaway, Enter Here! winner will get a free BOOK from us and an Eid gift! How cool is that. 

Then, we are currently taking submissions for book reviews ans marketing. If you're already a published writer, let us help you in promoting your work to our audience.

Highlight of this week is Noor.ul.ain's National Television Interview, that you can watch Here.  We are so proud of her. To order her book, please drop an email at beyondsanitybooks@gmail.com

SUMMERS! Send us your summer book collection. we want to know what you'e reading.

Have fun!

Review of Psychaotic by W.R. Watkins

W.R. Watkins rated it 5 of 5 stars

Where to begin with this book?

Well, for starters: this book is brilliant.

It is a rarity for me to find a book that deals with complex issues, yet manages to execute those issues with a refreshing brutal honesty, soul, humor and vulnerability.

This, for me, perfectly sums up ‘Psychaotic’.

Ms Zahra has no trouble writing out her thoughts, and feelings, telling the reader exactly what she is feeling at the time of writing her poetry. And that is a very, very good thing! Not everyone wants to read about Daffodils…

She not only does this time and time again throughout the book, she also presents to us who she is as a human being, who has experienced love gained and lost (‘Look For Love’; ‘Remind Me’), dreams rising and falling (‘Perceptions’), self-harm (‘Drought’; ‘Roses On My Arms’; ‘Control’) and wonders about life around her (‘The False Chapters’; ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’; ‘Somewhere In A Graveyard’), talking about the mysteries of demise to the weather (‘Dear Rain,’; ‘Thunder).

On more than one occasion, she bares her soul to you, the reader. It is almost like you’re in a therapy session, with the reader as the therapist, and she is your patient (in the best kind of way!). Not only do these entries present her vulnerability (‘Petrified’; ‘The Crossroads’), but they also show her strength of character, who at one point switches from pining for her lost love (‘The Absurdity Of You’; ‘To Play A Broken Record’; ‘The Impossible Him’), to saying that it is now over for good (‘End Of Us’).

For me, the stand out poems in this book are the ones that directly reflect the writer, and her motivations for writing. One such example can be found in ‘A Way To Write’, where we meet the writer face-to-face, no mask, and learn about her motivations and inspirations for writing.

I have listed only a few of the poems that talk about the themes I have listed. There are so many stand-out poems in this book; I wish I could talk about them all! But then, that would spoil it for the next reader, so I won’t do that.

Some poets are content with hiding themselves behind complex metaphors, overuse of similes, and using other people’s names for their own personal gains. No such this will be found in ‘Psychaotic’. 

This is ‘Psychaotic’, presenting Ms Irum Zahra, and her incredible writing talent, in Black and Red.