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Ал енді өзіміз шай ішейік! (eng. Now, Let's Have Some Tea Together) is an independent, horizontally organized publishing project created by a community of women writers. Published as a samizdat edition, the anthology was produced entirely by the community itself—from its authors and editors to its artists and designers. This collaborative approach made it possible to assemble the book on its own terms, preserving the immediacy of the texts, the distinct voices of their authors, and the project's independent spirit.

The anthology brings together 22 works of prose and poetry in Russian and English. Its contributors write about grandmothers and great-grandmothers, forgotten names in family histories, the language of childhood, migration, home, the body, motherhood, coming of age, sexuality, depression, the Asharshylyk famine, and the legacy of nuclear testing. The geography of the collection is equally expansive, with stories unfolding across Kentau, Berlin, the Fergana Valley, Istanbul, Kyiv, the Aral Sea region, and beyond.

During the presentation, several texts from the anthology will be read aloud by their authors.

Readers

Elmira Kakabayeva is a journalist, social anthropologist, and writer. She is the founder of the online women's writing course Family Ethnography, or How to Decolonize Your Writing, and co-founder and editor of the literary project Qantar.Jazylu, dedicated to the January 2022 protests in Kazakhstan. Her work has appeared in the anthologies Without Permission and A Little Book of Stories About Female Sexuality (No Kidding Press), as well as in Apollinariy and Mumbermag.

Aidana Sultan lives in Almaty and has been writing poetry for the past four years. Her work explores complex family relationships, memory, sisterhood, and coming of age. She also works on educational and cultural projects and festivals.

Kyial Tukembaeva is originally from Min-Kush, Kyrgyzstan. Her travel writing and essays have appeared in several online publications. She is currently working on a history of her extended family that reflects and illustrates key events of the twentieth century.

Assel Shaikh, originally from Kentau, lives in Los Angeles and works as a translator in the film industry. She has been writing actively since 2025. One of her short stories was published in a special issue of Aina Stories. Her work explores memory, loss, bilingualism, home, migration, and the search for belonging.

Nigora Egamberdi is a former United Nations professional currently pursuing a graduate degree in Counselling at Johns Hopkins University. Originally from Central Asia, she draws on her experiences living and working across cultures to explore themes of identity, displacement, and resilience. This is her first published short story. Through her writing, she seeks to give voice to the layered experiences of women across Asia as they navigate work, family, and belonging.

Languages: Russian and English

Admission is free.

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