Ingrid Persaud

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Ingrid Persaud
Central St. Martins
Occupation(s)Writer, artist and academic
Notable workLove After Love (2020)
AwardsCommonwealth Short Story Prize; BBC National Short Story Award; Costa First Novel Award

Ingrid Persaud is a Trinidad and Tobago-born writer, artist, and academic, who lives in the United Kingdom. She won the BBC National Short Story Award in 2018 and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2017 with her debut short story "The Sweet Sop".[1][2] The narrative revolves around an estranged father and son reuniting through their shared love for chocolate.[3]

Ingrid's first book, Love After Love was published in 2020; it won the Costa Book Award for First Novel.

In 2024, Persaud released her latest novel, The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh.

Education and work

Persaud read law at the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and worked as a visual artist and project manager before becoming a writer.[5][6][7]

Writing career

Persaud began writing in her 40s, after working as a legal academic and visual artist.

She has also written for National Geographic.[8]

She has since written for the magazines

Pree, as well as The Guardian and the I newspaper.[9][10][11]

Love After Love

Persaud's debut novel was published on March 31, 2020 by Faber & Faber in the UK and August 4, 2020 through One World/Random House in the USA.

The story, set in modern-day Trinidad, centres the Ramdin-Chetan family, told from three separate perspectives: Betty Ramdin, her son Solo, and their lodger Mr Chetan. These characters form an unconventional household full of love and affection until the night when a glass of rum, a heart to heart and a terrible truth explodes the family unit, driving them apart. The novel asks us to consider what happens at the very brink of human forgiveness, and offers hope to anyone who has loved and lost and has yet to find their way back.[12]

The book examines love in many iterations and also highlights the treatment of gay people in the Caribbean, the fragility of life as an undocumented migrant in the United States, as well as traditional religious beliefs contrasted with unconventional spirituality.[13]

She received critical acclaim including from The Guardian's reviewer, who said, "Persaud gives us a captivating interrogation of love in all its forms, how it heals and how it harms, the twists and torments of obsession (mania), sex and romance (eros), family (storge), friendship (philia), acceptance or rejection by the community, and so on."[14] The New York Times stated: "Great books about love, like this one, feel like precious and impossible gifts. We should cherish the writers who provide them."

The title of Persaud's novel refers to a poem of the same name by Caribbean author and poet Derek Walcott.

Awards

Year Title Award Category Result Ref.
2020 Love After Love Costa Book Awards First Novel Won [15]
2021 Authors' Club Best First Novel Award — Won [16]
Diverse Book Awards Adult 2nd Place [17]
Indie Book Awards (UK) Fiction Won [18]
Independent Booksellers' Book Prize Fiction Shortlisted

Personal life

Persaud left Trinidad at 18 and moved to the UK to study. She has lived at various times in Boston and Barbados. She has identical twin sons.[19]

Bibliography

Novels

  • Love After Love (2020)
  • The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh (2024)

Short stories

  • "The Sweet Sop" (2017)

References

  1. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. ^ Cowdrey, Katherine (30 June 2017). "Persaud wins the Commonwealth Writers' Short Story Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. ^ @NatGeoUK (27 February 2020). "Notes from an author: Ingrid Persaud on Trinidad". National Geographic. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  4. ^ "persaud-ingrid". RCW Literary Agency. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b "BBC Radio 4 - BBC National Short Story Award - Trinidadian writer Ingrid Persaud wins the 2018 Award". BBC. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Ingrid Persaud | Authors | Faber & Faber". www.faber.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  8. ^ @NatGeoUK (27 February 2020). "Notes from an author: Ingrid Persaud on Trinidad". National Geographic. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  9. ^ Wood, Heloise. "BBC winner Persaud's debut goes to Faber in 7-way auction | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  10. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  11. ^ Persaud, Ingrid (31 March 2020). "BBC's Short Story Award winner paints a picture of her home Trinidad". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  12. ^ pinktape01 (22 July 2020). Amazon. ASIN 0571356192.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ISBN 978-0-593-15757-2. Retrieved 22 July 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help
    )
  14. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  15. ^ "2021 Costa Book Award winner results". Costa Book Awards. 27 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Best First Novel Award". The Authors' Club Since 1891. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  17. ^ "2021 WINNERS". The DB Awards. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  18. ^ "Ingrid Persaud Wins Indie Book Award for Fiction 2021". RCW Literary Agency. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  19. ^ "Ingrid Persaud". Book Series in Order. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
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