By MALIK MERCHANT

Simerg’s introduction of “Books by Ismaili Authors” continues with Calgary based Mansoor Ladha’s latest book “Off the Cuff.” Mansoor is being featured in the series for the third time, following introductions of his two previous books “A Portrait in Pluralism: Aga Khan’s Shia Ismaili Muslims” and “Memoirs of a Muhindi.” We follow the same Q/A format as our earlier presentations of books written by Azim Jamal (Vancouver), Rozina Ramji (Edmonton), Shamim Murji (Brampton), Mahmoud Hirji (Toronto), Zul Premji (Calgary), Azim Jiwani (Vancouver), Naznin Rahemtulla Hébert (Montreal), Shairoz Lakhani (London, UK), Shelina Shariff Zia (New York), Ali Lakhani (Vancouver), Nizar Sultan (Toronto), Nargis Fazal (Vancouver), Nazlin Rahemtulla (Vancouver), Azmina Suleman (Calgary), Alnasir Rajan (Mississauga), Shafeen Ali (USA), Mansoor Ladha (Calgary), Zeni Shariff (Toronto) and Shamas Nanji (Edmonton). We encourage Ismaili authors from around the world to participate in this series, regardless of when their books were published. See details of the series HERE and submit your responses accordingly to Simerg’s editor, Malik, at mmerchant@simerg.com.

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Simerg’s Interview with Mansoor Ladha

Simerg: What is behind the naming of the title of the book? 

Mansoor Ladha: Off the Cuff basically means spontaneous, informal, or not prepared in advance. The book contains a collection of my selected editorial columns published in leading Canadian newspapers over several years, including Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun, Red Deer Advocate, Medicine Hat News etc.

Some essays, for example, discuss such issues as Not all Muslims Are Terrorists, An Open Letter to President Trump, Aga Khan: King without a Kingdom, as well as other interesting and some provocative subjects. Two of my favourite columns, which had a lot of feedback from readers, are an open letter to President Trump chastising him for calling immigrants “shitholes” and ignoring their contribution in the U.S. and another urging everyone not to brand every Muslim a terrorist. Readers will be enlightened to read about many interesting problems facing the modern world.

Simerg: Why would you want me or my family members to read the book, and what will we all learn from it?

Ladha: Off the Cuff contains articles on interesting, newsworthy, contemporary, and somewhat controversial topics of the day, aimed at provoking thoughts for readers. Some of the articles propose solutions to be taken by individuals and people in authority.

I believe that writers have the responsibility and power through their words to educate and illuminate the mind. As someone mentioned, a writer educates, tames, and mends the society. It’s a wonderful but an enormous responsibility to fulfil.

Simerg: What inspired you to write the book?

Ladha: I was prompted by a friend who is an avid newspaper reader to publish my editorial columns published during my career in journalism which began in 1966 when I joined The Standard in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I was motivated by the suggestion because as a writer, books are our most valuable legacy that can be left behind.

Simerg: How can I purchase the book and what are its available formats?

Ladha: The book is available from Amazon.ca, in softcover and eBook. Readers in the USA and other countries around the world may purchase the book at Amazon.com. I offer signed copies at a special reduced price. Please write to me at mladha695@gmail.com.

Simerg: How did you find a publisher for the book?

Ladha: Books are usually published by traditional publishers, majority of whom ony accept submissions through a literary agent or by self-publishing companies.

It is very difficult to get a literary agent interested in your submission and many take three to four months to assess your proposal. After a literary agent accepts your manuscript, he/she will then look for a publisher interested in publishing your book. The whole process takes several months before the book is finally published. It’s a frustrating process.

There are authors whose submissions have been rejected by 20 literary agents; and this is not considered to be unusual. I have been fortunate in getting published by traditional publishers for two of my previous books, Memoirs of a Muhindi: Fleeing East Africa for the West and A Portrait in Pluralism: Aga Khan’s Shia Ismaili Muslims.

For Off the Cuff, I chose to bypass the long wait and self-publish through Amazon with the help of a friend who is an expert IT technician since I found Amazon’s self-publishing portal very complicated to follow.

Simerg: Did you hire an editor, an illustrator or did you do all the work by yourself?

Ladha:  Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) provides printing and publishing templates requiring writers to submit edited manuscripts. However, Amazon provides cover design alternatives to choose from and formatting templates.

Simerg: Which was your first book and how many have you written?

Ladha: My first book was Portrait in Pluralism: Aga Khan’s Shia Ismaili Muslims published by Detselig. Memoirs of a Muhindi: Fleeing East Africa for the West was my second book published by University of Regina Press. I was also among a group of journalists and scholars invited to contribute a chapter in a book called “The Story that Brought Me Here” published by Brindle & Glass.

As I jokingly said, though I don’t play cricket anymore, I have scored a publishing hat-trick by publishing Off the Cuff! 

Simerg: How long did it take you to write Off the Cuff — from start to finish and to begin marketing it?

Ladha:  Getting the manuscript for Off the Cuff was easy as I had to collect copies of my published articles from my computer which didn’t involve any actual writing time.

Date posted: August 3, 2023.

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We welcome feedback from our readers. Please click Leave a comment. Your letter may be edited for length and brevity and is subject to moderation.

Mansoor Ladha has held senior editorial positions as a copy editor in Canada (Edmonton Journal & Calgary Herald), features editor (The Standard in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), copy editor (Daily Nation, Nairobi, Kenya) and was the only owner/publisher of colour of a mainstream English newspaper in Canada for 25 years. Since retiring, he has been travelling around the world as a travel writer on assignments and has published travel features in leading Canadian newspapers and magazines. He has numerous awards to his credit including being a Citizen of the Year in the Town of Morinville, Alberta; Silver Quill Award by the Alberta Weekly Newspapers for distinguished service to newspapers as well as Canada’s Caring Canadian Award for “outstanding and selfless contribution to your community and Canada” by the Governor General of Canada. He has most recently completed another non-fiction book and a novel, both of which are scheduled to be published in 2023. Ladha was also contributor to Simerg’s highly acclaimed series I Wish I’d Been There with a remarkable piece His Name is Jawhar. He has also contributed an exclusive piece for this website’s sister blog Barakah under the title Ismaili Journalist Mansoor Ladha’s Precious Moments with His Highness the Aga Khan.

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Calling all Ismaili Authors

We encourage Ismaili writers to introduce their books in a similar format as has been done in the post above. Please also see the series launch article and submit your responses to Malik at mmerchant@simerg.com. All submissions will be acknowledged. If a writer has published multiple books, each book will be highlighted in a separate article, and not combined with other books into one post. All writers should include a brief profile with a portrait photo.

We welcome feedback from our readers. Please click . Your letter may be edited for length and brevity, and is subject to moderation.

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Links to the Ismaili Authors’ Series (in chronological sequence, oldest article first):

1. “Justice Bertha Wilson Pushes the Boundaries of Humanity” by Shamas Nanji (series start, February 10, 2021)
2. “Little One, You Are The Universe” by Zeni Shariff (February 25, 2021)
3. “Memoirs of a Muhindi” by Mansoor Ladha (March 6, 2021, and see also 15 and 21 by the same author)
4. “To Be One With God: Seven Journeys to the Meaning of Life” by Shafeen Ali (March 25, 2021)
5. “Invisible Birthmarks” by Alnasir Rajan (April 13, 2021)
6. “IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE – Portrait of a ‘Cowboy’ Judge” by Azmina Suleman (April 28, 2021)
7. “RSVP Rice and Stew Very Plenty” by Nazlin Rahemtulla (May 28, 2021)
8. “Coughdrops” by Nargis Fazal (June 12, 2021)
9. “The Roots and the Trees” by Nizar Sultan (June 25, 2021)
10. “Faith and Ethics: The Vision of the Ismaili Imamat” by M. Ali Lakhani (July 4, 2021)
11. “Nairobi Days by Shelina_Shariff Zia (July 21, 2021)
12. “Shine Brighter” by Shairoz Lakhani (December 8, 2021)
13. “This is My Life” by Naznin Rahemtulla Hébert (February 26, 2022)
14. “Humanizing Medicine – Making Health Tangible” by Dr. Azim Jiwani (March 9, 2022)
15. “A Portrait in Pluralism: Aga Khan’s Shia Ismaili Muslims” by Mansoor Ladha (June 8, 2022, and see also 3 and 21 by the same author)
16. “Malaria Memoirs: My Life Journey as a Public Health Doctor in Tanzania” by Dr Zul Premji (June 30, 2022)
17. “Monkey Tales and Other Short Stories” by Mahmoud Hirji (September 10, 2022)
18. “Bloom! A Story of Diversity and Understanding” by Shamim Murji (October 27, 2022)
19. “Cooking with Mom” by Rozina Ramji (November 7, 2022)
20. “SPARK: Journey from Success to Significance” by Azim Jamal (July 17, 2023)
21. Off the Cuff by Mansoor Ladha (August 3, 2023, and see also 3 and 15 by the same author)

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Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few. Also visit Simerg’s sister websites Barakah, dedicated to His Highness the Aga Khan, and Simergphotos.

Simerg’s editor may be reached via email at mmerchant@simerg.com.