Exploring identity in Kristina Rahim's The Doughnut Club
About Author
Kristina Rahim's The Doughnut Club explores donor-conception and being true to oneself through 12-year-old Quinn's questions about her family and identity.
Kristina lives in London with her wife and two daughters. Before writing, Kristina worked in the property industry, building homes out of disused garages and scraps of land. She now spends her days building middle grade and YA novels. Her debut middle grade novel, The Doughnut Club, won the PFD Queer Fiction Prize 2023.
You can find her under @krahimwrites on Instagram, @krahim.bsky.social on Bluesky and @KWBwrites on X.
Interview
Exploring identity in Kristina Rahim's The Doughnut Club (Nosy Crow)
May 2025
With the growing number of donor-conceived children now in schools, Kritstina Rahim's The Doughnut Club explores some of the questions young people might have about donor-conceived families and the questions donor-conceived children might also want to explore.
In The Doughnut Club, 12-year-old Quinn - who is donor-conceived - discovers she has a number of half-siblings in other families. Battling with questions about her identity and her place within her own family, Quinn sets out to find out more about these new,y-discovered siblings.
Review: "Full of tenderness and humour, The Doughnut Club is fun to read and easily relatable, whether or not you are donor-conceived." Read a Chapter from The Doughnut Club.
ReadingZone spoke with author Kristina Rahim to find out what inspired her novel and how The Doughnut Club is helping to raise awareness of donor-conceived families.
Kristina Rahim, The Doughnut Club
I want to get more works of fiction into the hands of children that include donor conceived kids - and not just as secondary characters,
but as the leads in their own adventures
1. Can you tell us a little about yourself, what work you do and what drew you to writing for children?
I live in London with my wife and two daughters. Before I started writing, I worked in the property industry. I'd spent my childhood seeing my dad find scraps of land or unloved, houses and watching him turn them into our next family home. I ended up following in his footsteps and spent several years working in property development.
However, during the Covid lockdowns, this work took a back seat. My wife's job continued throughout this time, and I was in charge of attempting to home school our two young daughters. It was during our daily walks my mind started exploring the joys of writing for children. My daughters and I used to wander through the local parks, making up stories to pass the time. I enjoyed the escapism of it all and soon started to work on these stories in my own time.
I still get a buzz when I drive past a house that dad and I built together, and I see people living in them, enjoying the home we created out of nothing. And I think to myself, we made that!
Even though I've switched careers and am no longer involved in building houses, I am still building in a sense, but now, I'm building stories. Stories which I hope will go on to give joy to those who read them. And hopefully, in years to come, I'll still see my books standing on a bookshop shelf and I'll be able to say, I made those!
2. What happens in your new book, The Doughnut Club, and what inspired you to write it?
The Doughnut Club follows the story of 12-year-old, donor-conceived Quinn Parker. When Quinn and her younger brother, Olly, are told by their mums they have 16 donor siblings they never knew existed, Quinn is delighted. She wonders: could one of these donor siblings be more like her? However, in her quest to find out, she soon fears that one of these donor siblings could be her worst enemy…
My wife and I have two daughters who were both donor-conceived using the same sperm donor. As our girls have got older, more situations have cropped up when they meet new people, and they have to explain their family set-up. It was seeing this happen for them again and again which inspired me to write this story. I want to get more works of fiction into the hands of children that include donor-conceived kids - and not just as secondary characters, but as the leads in their own adventures.
3. Why did you want to make a story featuring donor-conceived children available to younger readers? What else do you explored through the story - and can you tell us how its title came about?
The HFEA (Human Fertility and Embryology Authority) issued a statement recently, where they predicted by 2030, there will be an average of one to two donor conceived children in every English state primary school. The reality is, this number will probably be higher. Therefore, now more than ever, I feel it's important for children of all ages to be aware and have some understanding of the topic of donor conception.
At its heart, The Doughnut Club is a fun-filled story about kids finding a way to be true to themselves. It's set on the coast and is filled with relatable family holiday antics.
The title was inspired by a conversation which happened when our eldest was six years old. Her new best friend at school innocently asked why she didn't have a daddy. We've always been open and straight forward with any questions like this, in the hope our kids will learn to answer in the same way themselves. So, our daughter responded to her friend with the simple answer:
"I don't have a daddy; I have a donor."
To which her friend replied: "A doughnut?!"
Fortunately, this created a fit of giggles between the girls as our daughter corrected her friend and continued to explain her family more. However, when she came home to tell us this, it stuck with me how little awareness kids her age and older may have about families created through donor conception.
4. How did you go about researching this, and the kinds of questions children might have about being donor-conceived?
Even though my own children are both donor conceived, I know my experiences of this process will be different from other families. Therefore, during the editing of this story, I sought out consultation and guidance from some wonderful, non-profit organisations within the donor community.
It was also important to me to have authenticity readers review my story before we completed the editing. I realise you can rarely please everyone, but I wanted to have other eyes on it from within the donor community before we went to print. One reader was from the Donor Conception Network, and the other is a prominent supporter of donor families, is donor-conceived herself, and is also a parent to two donor-conceived children. Thankfully, they were both happy with the book!
5. Do you feel there is a still a lot of work to do to raise awareness about families that include donor-conceived children? What are the main issues you wanted to address?
I think, generally, there is a lack of awareness and understanding among children and adults about donor conception and the varying methods available to make a family.
When our girls were small, we found picture books which reflected similar families to our own. As they got older, there were fewer stories which represented specifically donor-conceived children. I want to try and change this.
With The Doughnut Club, and future stories to come, I want to bring more donor families and their stories into mainstream children's fiction. The more opportunities children have to read books which give an insight into lives different to their own, the more inclusive the next generation will learn to be.
6. Quinn, your main character, struggles to see herself reflected in her family. How do you use this to explore identity through the story?
Feeling like the odd one out or that you don't belong is a common emotion felt among children of all ages (and some adults!). Quinn feels this in her own family, and it leads her to search elsewhere for this sense of belonging that she craves. However, with the help of some characters she meets along the way, Quinn learns to appreciate her own traits and skills.
I hope through following Quinn's journey children will see the strength they can gain by learning to be proud of who they are, even if they might seem different from those around them. This difference should be celebrated rather than feared.
7. Can you tell us a little about the setting for the novel, and why you decided on a beach holiday as the backdrop? Is it based on somewhere you know?
The location of The Doughnut Club was inspired by a part of North Devon called Saunton Sands. As a family, we have holidayed in this area a lot over the years, and every time we arrive, I am blown away by the huge expanse of beach and the rolling sand dunes. They are stunning! So, when I decided to set a story on a family holiday, there was no other place I had in mind.
I think family holidays are a great backdrop for a story, because all kinds of things happen when loved ones are together, but away from the normal routine of home. Also, the setting of a hotel allows for some fun interactions with other guests!
8. Other than a really engaging story, what would you like young readers to take from Quinn's adventures and the other themes explored through the story?
If I had to choose one thing for young readers to take away from Quinn's story, it would be to be yourself. No matter what shape or form your family comes in, or how wild they may be, give them a chance to know the real you.
Throughout the story, Quinn and her family all need to learn to have the confidence to share their likes and dislikes with each other, even when they differ, because that's what keeps things interesting. Life would be incredibly dull if we were all the same!
9. Will you be returning to write more about Quinn and her family and friends? What are you writing currently?
I am very fond of all the characters from The Doughnut Club, so I would love the opportunity to return to them for another story one day. However, I am currently working on a new story, looking at donor conception from a different angle, with a host of new characters on a different adventure. The most I can say at this point is that it is a dual narrative story, which is something I haven't tried before, but I'm hoping it's going to work!
10. Where and when do you prefer to write?
I used to have a writing space on a desk in our spare bedroom. It was cosy, and I liked the sage green colour of the walls in that room and it's where I wrote The Doughnut Club. However, our youngest daughter recently pointed out that because I work from home more than my wife now, I should move into the bigger office space. Which I have, and so far, so good! Although I might consider a re-paint to bring the calming sage green back into my writing days!
The Doughnut Club
