FIDAN MEIKLE: My Name is Zayn

FREE EVENT

Come and celebrate the launch of Fidan Meikle's new children's novel, My Name Is Zayn, follow-up to the multi-award-winning debut My Name is Samim!

About the book:
My name is Zayn.
I’m thirteen, I’m obsessed with football – and I’m a refugee.
This is my story. Are you ready for it?

Zayn endures a long, dangerous journey from war-torn Afghanistan with his best friend Samim, only to lose him when their dinghy sinks in the English Channel. Zayn arrives in the UK, alone, but convinced Samim is alive – somewhere. Living in a hotel with other asylum seekers, can Zayn rebuild his life and find his missing friend?

Readers will root for quick-witted, brave Zayn in the highly anticipated follow-up to My Name is Samim (Jhalak Prize winner and part of the Read for Empathy collection). This hopeful story of resilience and friendship was inspired by the real-life stories of hundreds of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who went missing from UK hotels, until the High Court ruled it was unlawful to house them there. Fidan Meikle's writing is heartfelt, wry and evocative, allowing older middle-grade readers to see through the eyes of an often-invisible minority.

About the authors:
Fidan Meikle is a multi-award-winning Azerbaijani-British writer, linguist and translator. Her debut middle-grade novel, My Name Is Samin, won the Jhalak Children's & YA Prize, the Federation of Children's Book Groups Children's Book Award, several regional awards and was included in the 2026 Read for Empathy Collection. My Name Is Samim and the companion novel, My Name Is Zayn, are inspired by the real-life stories of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK. Fidan lives in West Lothian, Scotland.