The story “Torn”, which Rashid wrote for a writing competition of the Arts Council’s diversity branch Decibel and Penguin books, was published in the book “The Map of Me” in 2008.

“It meant a great deal to me to have recognition for the work I was doing”, Rashid explains. Currently, he is working on a memoire, which will be the full-length version of “Torn”. “The BBC had read the book and invited me to London to take part in a workshop. All participants were then invited to submit some scripts for radio plays. So I'm working on a couple I had in mind.”

But the writing is not enough for Rashid. Having over 20 years of business experience, the mature UoC graduate is just in the process of setting up his own PR, Media and Marketing business Yellow (“Red Yellow”) in Middlesbrough. “We big-up our clients’ public persona, get them noticed in the local and national press, analyse their target markets and come-up with dynamic ways to reach them.”

“I was always interested in PR and marketing, and the journalism and creative writing gave me insight into the media world. So it made sense to fuse my skills together and set up my business”, Rashid explains.