Gasping for Breath: Black crime fiction

Guest edited by Peter Kalu

Gasping for Breath: Black crime fiction

‘Black people are over-represented in the British penal system and yet under-represented in British crime fiction. This WritersMosaic guest edition advances some thoughts on the reasons for this relative absence, and scopes related possibilities for the crime fiction genre’s evolution.’

Peter Kalu

“Black British crime fiction is in intensive care.”

Jacqueline Roy

“I couldn’t, in good faith, represent a justice system that is fair and impartial in the novel. How then to write it?”

Yvvette Edwards

“When we hear about stabbing fatalities, it's a purely male issue... there's an almost complete absence of female voices… women who are absolutely devastated.”

Saima Mir

“The women I knew were strong, smart, and savvy. They navigated the complexities of intersectionality with grace, and sometimes with rage, and they did not fit a stereotype.”

Shahireh Sharif

“I hated his guts. Putting prawns in Veronica’s mouth with his gold-ringed fingers. Veronica should be smiling at me.”

Nii Ayikwei Parkes

“A bird is living its life – if you let it be the world continues to turn; if you insert yourself into its world, reality changes, the story changes, just the way the Ananse stories I was told altered with my input.”

Dipali Das

“She hated smoke in the car but knew better than to protest as he lit his roll up and inhaled and exhaled, long and deep like a yogi. The low sun emphasised the depth of the scar by his jaw.”

Karline Smith

“Peeping through a slit in the blinds, Sophie saw Guy head off in the dark blue Audi. Then she noticed a car on the opposite side of the road sneak in behind Guy, like a shadow.”
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