Yousra Imran

Author of books, Journalist, Novelist, YA author

Also writes as

Yousra Samir Imran

www.yousraimran.com

Booking enquiry

Available for

Workshop, Talk, Reading, Interview

Audiences

Age 14 to 16, Age 16 to 18+, Further Education, University, Adult

Genres

Fiction narrative, Memoir, Narrative non-fiction, Realistic fiction

Book types

Young Adult

Details

I’ve been writing ever since the moment I could hold a pen. I was always entering writing and poetry competitions at school - and won a fair few - and I even wrote the script for the end-of-year play when I was in Year 6! I love relaying my passion for writing to children and young people and showing them how important it is to tell their stories as a way of self-empowerment.

I am of mixed Egyptian and English/Scottish heritage, and was born and brought up in London, before moving to Qatar at the age of 14, where I lived until I was 29 years old.

By day I work as an independent journalist and have written for many well-known titles such as Vogue Arabia, Elle, Stylist, Grazia, Elle, Cosmopolitan and more.

I have chaired and spoken at a number of literary festivals including Bradford Literature Festival, Durham Book Festival, Ananke Women in Literature Festival and Hammersmith & Fulham Writers’ Festival.

I am passionate about women’s rights, gender justice, disability awareness, mental health, and women in Islam.

I have done several visits to secondary schools and colleges and connect well with young people, probably because I still believe I am kid myself! I have previously worked in both Further and Higher Education and am experienced in dealing with teenagers and young adults.

I am based in West Yorkshire and charge lower rates for visits or events in Yorkshire. As I do not drive, visits or events outside of Yorkshire are at a higher rate to cover my travel expenses.

Books by Yousra Imran

Hijab and Red Lipstick is my first book, a YA semi-autobiographical novel based on my own life growing up between London and Doha. It explores sensitive themes such as domestic abuse, spiritual abuse and controlling and coercive behaviour as well as feminism. Hijab and Red Lipstick was longlisted for The Diverse Book Awards 2021 and featured on BBC Radio 4 and 5 as well as in Vogue Arabia. A second edition of Hijab and Red Lipstick is being published in April 2026.

IBSN: 9781913835446

Hijab and Red Lipstick

“You cannot do anything in this country without my permission.” For sixteen-year-old Sara, life has always been about following the rules; her father’s rules. Makeup? Haram. Fashion magazines? Haram. Friends who don’t meet his approval? Definitely haram. When her strict Egyptian dad moves the family to the Arabian Gulf, Sara’s world shrinks overnight. In a place where a woman’s freedom depends on a man’s permission, every dream feels out of reach. But Sara refuses to disappear quietly. As her passion for writing, beauty and independence grows stronger, so does her courage to challenge the expectations that bind her. Can she stay true to her faith while finding her own voice, and a future she chooses for herself? Candid, courageous and unforgettable, Hijab & Red Lipstick is a powerful coming-of- age story about identity, patriarchy and the fight to belong - inspired by the experiences of women who dare to defy.

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Keywords

CURRENT AFFAIRS DIVERSITY FEMINISM FICTION JOURNALISM MEMOIR MUSLIM WOMEN WRITING