Creative Writing master’s graduate Tasneem Abdur-Rashid had her novel manuscript rejected by several publishers before she’d even applied to the degree programme. She had no idea why that was the case until she spoke with her Birkbeck tutor, who helped her to cut down the word count and tighten up the subplots and characters. She then had no trouble securing a two-book publishing deal.

Representation in fiction is important to Tasneem. In her debut novel, Finding Mr Perfectly Fine, the protagonist is a British Bengali Muslim. “I want people like me to pick up my book and find characters they can relate to. I think the story transcends culture because finding a partner is a universal challenge.”

Tasneem was the recipient of an Aziz Foundation scholarship, aimed at supporting British Muslims through postgraduate degrees in a range of subjects, which allowed her to succeed at Birkbeck.