Book Launch: LAND OF NO REGRETS by Sadi Muktadir

Join us for the book launch of Sadi Muktadir’s Land of No Regrets! There will be food, a reading and conversation.

In Land of No Regrets, Muktadir takes the classic tropes of a boarding school novel and sets them in the world of an intensely religious, conservative Madrasa. Strikingly original, and as poignant as it is humorous, the novel is a vibrant and compassionate exploration of faith, friendship, identity, and the true value of freedom. Perfect for fans of Dead Poets Society, A Place for Us, and Prep.

Sadi Muktadir was a finalist for the Thomas Morton Memorial Prize in Literary Excellence, a finalist for the Malahat Review’s Open Season Awards, a third-place winner of the Humber Literary Review’s Emerging Writer Story Contest, and a winner of Toronto’s What’s Your Story competition. His writing has appeared in Joyland, the Humber Literary Review, Ricepaper Magazine, and other literary journals. Land of No Regrets is his first novel.

“The intimacy, humour, and pain Sadi Muktadir elicits in Land of No Regrets – the specificity, strangeness and aching familiarity of Nabil’s exploration of the traps that litter both faith and secularism – mark this as the debut of a unique, powerful writer. A wonderful novel.”—Naben Ruthnum, author of Helpmeet and A Hero of Our Time

Nabil, freshly, plucked from middle school in Scarborough, is struggling to find his place at Al Haque Islamic Academy. Between the intense religious studies and the new rules, he still longs for his past life of baseball, video games, comic books, and girls. But when he stumbles upon two students doing something they shouldn’t be doing, he quickly falls into their company and joins them in their misdeeds. Together with the new transfer student and the unruly class clow, the group executes their rebellion.

One day, while exploring the madrasa at night, the boys discover the diary of a student who lived on the grounds when it was an all-girls’ Catholic school. Cynthia Lewis’s words connect them to a bygone era and inspire them to hatch a plot to escape. They form a pact, and together, their ultimate decision sends them hurtling down a path that changes their lives forever.

This launch event is part of the Toronto Lit Up programme, which is designed to spotlight new works and empower Toronto’s writers. Toronto Lit Up is funded by the Toronto Arts Council and spearheaded by the Toronto International Festival of Authors. You can learn more about the programme and upcoming events at FestivalOfAuthors.ca/torontolitup.