âFrom childhood, I had been surrounded by the gorgeous adornments of Islam.â Illustration: Ngadi Smart/Studio Pi/The Guardian
As a writer, my main concern is inviting the reader into a world that they might not otherwise know. And if itâs a world they do know, I want it to feel familiar to them. If thereâs one thing I strive towards when it comes to writing, itâs legitimacy. And as a reader, Iâm looking for exactly the same thing.
When it came to judging this competition, for young black writers aged between 16 and 21 on the theme of conversations, I spent a lot of time either being wowed by their penmanship, or astonished that I could so easily connect with what they were saying. Itâs been a long time since I was that age, but the skill of a good writer is drawing anyone in, whatever the gaps in age, culture or knowledge.
Oldham Libraries is gifting 1,000 books to families across the borough this Christmas
Leading charity The Reading Agency are working with Costa Coffee to distribute books to local communities – including some of those hardest hit by the pandemic.
Oldham Libraries has been successful in securing 1,000 packs to gift to local families.
As part of the Costa Coffee Gift-A-Book campaign packages will be distributed containing one adult book, one children’s book, a children s activity sheet and a range of Costa Coffee treats.
The books in each care package have been selected from the works of six bestselling authors connected to the Costa Book Awards. They are: Grandpa Bert and the Ghost Snatchers and Ellie and the Cat by Malorie Blackman, Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, Kaspar: Prince of Cats by Michael Morpurgo, Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell and The Salt Path by Raynor Winn.
Lisa Bent on writing romance that centres Black women
The author of Symona s Still Single thinks we need more Black love stories
PICTURED: LIsa Bent (Photo: Arnab Ghosal)
LISA BENT was inspired to write
Symona’s Still Single after years discussing the ups and downs of dating online. For six years she shared her thoughts on her blog,
Deeper than Twitter. But it was the response to a Facebook post that showed her those musings on love and romance could be developed into something more. It’s what gave her the boost to write a book.
“It wasn’t until 2017 where I wrote a post about my encounter outside TK Maxx that I really knew I had something,” she tells
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