Karachi, After Midnight Vol. 1 Launch at Printed Matter, NYC
by Khajistan Cultural Desk
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Karachi, after Midnight Vol. 1
Book launch and conversation
December 4, 2025
6–8PM
Join us at Printed Matter for the launch of Khajistan Press’ new book series, Karachi, After Midnight: Volume 1—a gay man’s online diary from Pakistan’s dial-up era (2003–2009). A reading circle will bring this digital time capsule to life, performing selected entries from its inaugural volume.
Order the complete edition or all individual parts I-III of Volume 1 below:
Karachi, After Midnight: VOLUME 1—COMPLETE EDITION
Karachi, After Midnight: VOLUME 1—PART I: COUNTING TRAFFIC
Karachi, After Midnight: VOLUME 1—PART II: STORM SEASON
Karachi, After Midnight: VOLUME 1—PART III: CITY ELECTRIC
“I was 13 when a gay man in Karachi, writing under a pseudonym, was typing himself into existence on the slow dial-up internet of 2003. For four years he kept a blog, and for those years I read.
He wrote about crushes and monsoons, his first kiss, workplace drama, fights with his mom, Urdu poetry he couldn’t shake, power cuts, and his thoughts on American imperialism, including the invasion of Iraq as it was unfolding.
Platforms die. URLs break. Paper endures. I saved his posts because they mattered to me, and because through his writing I learned “sPoKeN” English. I don’t want his voice to vanish.
Karachi After, Midnight is the record of a life: funny, searching, often heartbreaking, and always real.” – Saad Khan
Shams Tabrizi (a pseudonym) is the author of Karachi, After Midnight.
Images and videos from the event on the Khajistan Press Instagram page:
