Nussaibah Younis in conversation with Nicola Sturgeon for Fundamentally

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 WOMAN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION

"Wise, chilling and hilarious, profound and preposterous. The best book I've read this year on the joy, delusions, missteps and precious idealism of our interventions" -- Rory Stewart

"Funny, gripping and compassionate" -- Dolly Alderton

This February we're joined by Nussaibah Younis to celebrate the paperback release of her brilliant, Woman's-Prize-Shortlisted, novel, Fundamentally. We're delighted to share that the event will be chaired by the former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

Nadia is an academic who's been disowned by her puritanical mother and dumped by her lover, Rosy. She decides to make a getaway, accepting a UN job in Iraq. Tasked with rehabilitating ISIS women, Nadia becomes mired in the opaque world of international aid, surrounded by bumbling colleagues.

Sara is a precocious and sweary East Londoner who joined ISIS at just fifteen.

Nadia is struck by how similar they are: both feisty and opinionated, from a Muslim background, with a shared love of Dairy Milk and rude pick-up lines. A powerful friendship forms between the two women, until a secret confession from Sara threatens everything Nadia has been working for.

Dr Nussaibah Younis is a peacebuilding practitioner and a globally recognised expert on contemporary Iraq. For several years, she advised the Iraqi government on proposed programs to de-radicalise women affiliated with ISIS. She studied at Oxford, Durham and Harvard Universities, and has a PhD in International Affairs. Dr Younis was a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC, where she directed the Task Force on the Future of Iraq. She has published Op-Eds in the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She was born in the UK to an Iraqi father and a Pakistani mother, and currently lives in London.

Nicola Sturgeon served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party from 2014 to 2023 and has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament since its establishment in 1999. As leader of the SNP, she worked with five British Prime Ministers, from David Cameron to Rishi Sunak.