A A Dhand

A A Dhand
A A Dhand
Occupation	Author
Nationality	British
Education	Fulneck School,; West Yorkshire
Genre	Crime fiction
Notable works	Harry Virdee series

A A Dhand (Amit Dhand) is a British-Asian crime-writer. His recent books are set in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford,^[1] a former industrial city very much a shadow of its former self and rife with social deprivation, crime and complex inter-communal challenges.^[2]^[3]

Early life and education

Raised in Bradford, the son of an immigrant corner shop owner,^[4] Dhand was educated at Fulneck School, a boarding and day private school in the market town of Pudsey (near Leeds) in West Yorkshire. The School features in his novels.

Life and career

Dhand originally trained as a pharmacist and worked in London, but returned to his home town to start a pharmacy business and write books.^[5]

He is now a regular contributor to a number of British Asian and crime writers' fora.^[6]

Writing

Dhand's first novel featured a character Ranjit Singh and is set against the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947; but it has been his more recent novels that have won him critical acclaim. These have featured the Bradford-based police detective Harry Virdee, a progressive British Sikh who struggles with his cultural identity and family loyalties. Race, violence and exploitation are on the agenda in the Virdee novels, and Dhand has not shied away from controversial issues of tension between British Asian communities. Dhand is fairly unique as he sets his protagonists (who are shaped by Asian culture) in a British setting.^[7]

His novel Streets of Darkness is being developed as a TV drama.^[8] In August 2023, the BBC announced that the Harry Virdee books would be adapted into a six episode series entitled Virdee, with Staz Nair starring in the title role.^[9]

Bibliography

Fields of Blood (2015) (featuring character Ranjit Singh)
Streets of Darkness (Bantam Press - 16 June 2016) (featuring character Harry Virdee)
Girl Zero (Bantam Press - 13 July 2017) (featuring character Harry Virdee)^[10]
City of Sinners (Bantam Press - 28 June 2018) (featuring character Harry Virdee)
One Way Out (Bantam Press - 27 June 2019) (featuring character Harry Virdee)^[11]
Blood Divide (Bantam Press - 2021) (featuring character Jack Baxi)^[12]

References

^ "Abir Mukherjee and AA Dhand at the 2017 Bradford Literary Festival, Open Book - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ "A. A. Dhand – The Asian Writer". theasianwriter.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ "Bradford author A A Dhand talks Streets of Darkness". Yorkshire Evening Post. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
^ Hughes, Sarah (29 May 2016). "Northern noir finds a new detective hero in the dark heart of Yorkshire". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ "AA Dhand: Streets of Darkness - New Writing North". New Writing North. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ "Secrets of Crime Writing - Bradford Literature Festival". Bradford Literature Festival. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ "An interview with Bradford crime writer A.A Dhand - The Bradford Review". www.thebradfordreview.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ "FilmWave snaps up rights to Bradford thriller | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ "'Happy Valley' Creator Sally Wainwright, Jenna Coleman, Nicôle Lecky, Sacha Dhawan Series Set at BBC". variety.com. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
^ "A. A. Dhand books and biography | Waterstones". www.waterstones.com. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ "Crime author AA Dhand: Life and death on Bradford's 'forgotten' streets | BBC News". Retrieved 14 March 2019.
^ "The Blood Divide | penguin.co.uk". Retrieved 2 September 2023.

External links

A A Dhand’s Website
A A Dhand on LinkedIn
Penguin Authors^{[permanent dead link‍]}
A A Dhand Blog and Photography

[1] "Abir Mukherjee and AA Dhand at the 2017 Bradford Literary Festival, Open Book - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 28 August 2017.

[2] "A. A. Dhand – The Asian Writer". theasianwriter.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2017.

[h783-3] "Bradford author A A Dhand talks Streets of Darkness". Yorkshire Evening Post. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2024.

[4] Hughes, Sarah (29 May 2016). "Northern noir finds a new detective hero in the dark heart of Yorkshire". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2017.

[5] "AA Dhand: Streets of Darkness - New Writing North". New Writing North. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.

[6] "Secrets of Crime Writing - Bradford Literature Festival". Bradford Literature Festival. Retrieved 28 August 2017.

[7] "An interview with Bradford crime writer A.A Dhand - The Bradford Review". www.thebradfordreview.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.

[8] "FilmWave snaps up rights to Bradford thriller | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 28 August 2017.

[9] "'Happy Valley' Creator Sally Wainwright, Jenna Coleman, Nicôle Lecky, Sacha Dhawan Series Set at BBC". variety.com. Retrieved 3 September 2023.

[10] "A. A. Dhand books and biography | Waterstones". www.waterstones.com. Retrieved 28 August 2017.

[11] "Crime author AA Dhand: Life and death on Bradford's 'forgotten' streets | BBC News". Retrieved 14 March 2019.

[12] "The Blood Divide | penguin.co.uk". Retrieved 2 September 2023.

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