I’m Samira Shackle, a freelance journalist, author and editor based in London, specialising in long-form reported features. I’m a regular contributor to the Guardian Long Read, and I also write for lots of other publications. I’m extremely lucky in that I write on a broad range of subjects. Recent long reads have ranged from from the mystery of the Gatwick drone to the Pakistani military’s promotion of travel influencers, from the rise of hoarding disorder to an alleged hijacking off the coast of the Isle of Wight. My reporting has won multiple awards – most recently a One World Media award in 2023, and a Foreign Press Association award in 2021. And my first book, Karachi Vice was published in 2021, during the very depths of the pandemic-lockdown. It was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.
I usually write long form reported features which take months to come to fruition. This is a space where I'll share some shorter pieces of original writing, behind-the-scenes snippets from my reporting and outtakes from published work, as well as discussion of freelance journalism and writing craft (the two subjects I probably spend most time thinking about). You'll find links to my work, as well as recommendations of what I've been reading and listening to. My aim is to post every fortnight - and never more than once a week (I respect your inbox, and frankly am not disciplined enough).
I would love it if you subscribed (and tell anyone else who might be interested!)
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
