In conversation

Talking about her journey as a poet, as well as poetry as the art of silence
 and about the word and how it relates to the truth of our bodies.

Sita Brahmachari talks with the Dr Darren Chetty and Professor Karen Sands-O’Connor about their new book Beyond the Secret Garden which traces how Black and racially minoritised characters have been represented in ‘the secret garden’ of British children’s literature from its earliest stages. The interview was recorded at the end of 2024, ahead of the publication of the book.

Jason Okundaye has published his first book, Revolutionary Acts. He talks to Gabriel Gbadamosi about his drive to normalise writing about black life in his work which focuses on love and brotherhood in black gay Britain.

‘The language to me growing up in Neasden felt incredibly transgressive, inherently quite violent. But there is something ecstatic about that crossing or breaking a border for, say, Arabic words to feel so at home on your tongue.’

Talking about her writing life in Aberdeen

Penguin has published a new classic edition of Return to my Native Land, the Martinique-born poet Aimé Césaire’s tale of exile and homecoming​​. Recently, Jason Allen-Paisant joined Colin Grant at the London Review of Books bookshop to discuss Césaire's life and work.

A new documentary paints a fascinating portrait of the pioneering singer and author Pauline Black who, with the band The Selecter, was central in the late 1970s to the rise of 2-tone music and the revival of Ska. The film was released earlier this year and she talked with Gabriel Gbadamosi about her career and bearing witness to historical and contemporary British racial politics.

The author, screenwriter and founder of Storymix, Jasmine Richards, talks with Gabriel Gbadamosi about why she felt driven to start a studio dedicated to centring children and teens of colour in stories filled with joy and adventure. (photo by Hannah Pye)

Talking about writing for soap operas and the wider television industry

The poet and civil rights activist Nikki Giovanni has died. Her Penguin Modern Classics collection, published earlier this year, marked the culmination of an extraordinary career. In February, Giovanni talked with Colin Grant, about her poetry, her beautiful life and desire to go to Mars.

The names of the six writers who will take part in the 2025 WritersMosaic retreat have been announced. Clementine E Burnley and Amanda Vilanova from the inaugural retreat recall a magical experience and offer advice for the next cohort of writers.

Irenosen Okojie talks to Gabriel Gbadamosi about the alchemy of writing in the early hours and the power of stories to heal. She discusses challenging the stigma of mental ill health in literature and pouring love into Afrofuturism through her project, Black to the Future.