Brought up in London, Christy Lefteri is the child of Cypriot refugees. She is a lecturer in creative writing at Brunel University. The Beekeeper of Aleppo was born out of her time working as a volunteer at a Unicef supported refugee centre in Athens. It became a Sunday Times bestseller and the winner of the 2020 Aspen Words Literary Prize. Christy's latest novel, Songbirds, is about the plight of domestic workers in Cyprus.
It was such an honour to speak to Christy, who I find to be intelligent, warm and bright. Having also worked in the charity sector for the last (almost) decade, I was keen to unpack and dive deep into Christy's thoughts and experiences around Beekeeper.
In this interview, we talk about the power of story-telling, love for writing, inter-generational trauma, human dignity and respect.
Buy Beekeeper of Aleppo here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5890/9781838770013
Buy Songbirds here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5890/9781786580856
