AN ONLINE book festival celebrating a new wave of Black British authors will take place this December.
Produced by independent publisher Jacaranda Books, Twentyin2020, will showcase 20 Black British authors, many of whom have made their writing debut with the publisher.
The event takes its name from the Twentyin2020 initiative, which saw Jacaranda Books commit to publishing 20 titles by Black Britons in just one year. Spanning adult fiction, non-fiction and poetry, the project aims to embed the voices of emerging Black authors as valued members of British culture and society.
The one-day festival will explore the Black experience through the work of the featured authors. Audiences will be able to attend sessions throughout the day, including Empowering Black women through Romance Writing, Between Two Worlds: Exploring Mixed-Race Identity and The Poets of #TwentyIn2020.
Jazzmine Breary, sales, publicity and marketing manager, said: “2020 has been a difficult year, particularly for the Black community, but it has also been a year of great achievement, showing our resilience, creativity and talent. The #TwentyIn2020 programme was created to celebrate and share diverse Black British voices and stories and this festival is a perfect representation of that vision, paying homage to the 20 incredible Black British writers of #TwentyIn2020.”
The lineup will feature conversations with Stella Oni, the author of Deadly Sacrifice, who will discuss being a Black female crime writer, and Shola von Reinhold, whose book, Lote, investigates the censoring of Black queer voices in the arts and literature.
The Twentyin2020 festival, which is in collaboration with FANE Productions and boutique marcomms and talent management agency TGRG and sponsored by Audible will take place on 5 December.
FANE founder Alex Fane said: “Jacaranda’s work is truly inspirational. This festival aims to champion that in the biggest possible online way. It’s a festival for discussion, exploration and learning, but also a celebration of all Twentyin2020 has achieved.”
TGRG managing director and co-producer Juanita Rosenior said: “I’m excited to be a part of bringing this event to audiences as I’m a big believer in championing unique talents that disrupt the status quo. Not only do my co-producers demonstrate that but the authors themselves. As a huge book lover, this is really a highlight!”
A portion of the profits from this event will be donated to the event’s charity of choice, Black Cultural Archives (BCA).
