October was designated as Black History Month in the UK by Akyaaba Addai Sebo in 1987. This was as a result to the riots of the 1980s in the UK when black Britons fought for tolerance and acceptance and their fight against racism and marginalization headlined. Black History Month was chosen to be in the month of October because it is the month when African leaders and chiefs get together to settle their differences. It also corresponds to the beginning of the school year and there was hope that it would instill pride in black children.

Since I host a month of videos, Instagram photo challenges, a readalong, and blog posts for Black History Month in February for the US, I felt like I needed to do something this year for Black History Month UK and I will continue to do things for October. I’m terribly disappointed that it is hardly mentioned in the book communities online, especially since there are many other different book activities hosted this month. So, I decided to spearhead a readalong of 26a by Diana Evans over on Goodreads.

I believe when readers are asked who is their favorite black British writer they either have a tendance to say Zadie Smith or they have no idea. I find that a little sad because there are a plethora of black British writers out there but I don’t think they are getting as much recognition and love as they should. So I decided to contribute these two extensive lists below of black British Women and Men Writers that you may not have even heard of.

Once during one of my Instalives someone asked me, «Who is your favorite British author? » I was taken aback because the only name that came to mind was Zadie Smith. It was in that moment that I realized I was lacking in reading Black British authors. There were other names I could have said that I’d read, but for some reason they weren’t coming to mind. That goes to show how important publicity is and why it’s important to not only read black writers but to talk about them and to gush about your favorites. Why is it we can name white men and women British writers’ names without hesitation? Their names are foremost in our heads because they are literally all over the net ALL THE TIME from Goodreads to YouTube to Instagram to Litsy and so on….

In order to encourage you to discover some black British writers check out my list below. I’ll highlight the authors and the titles I’ve read. I’m sure this is another literary journey I’ll attempt to go on eventually because the lists are rich. At the moment, I’m enjoying discovering literature from the Caribbean, which will overlap with these two lists. Concerning my Caribbean reading journey, the backlist has been where I’m finding the gems. The Backlist is where it’s at people. You’re chasing the new titles and missing out on the tried and true. Remember there will always be new titles coming out but the oldies are classics which stand the test of time.

Black British Women Writiers

Mojisola ADEBAYO

Helen OYEYEMI

Patience AGBABI

Joan ANIM-ADDO

Similar BEDFORD

Malorie BLACKMAN – Noughts and Crosses

Zena EDWARDS

Buchi EMECHETA

Diana EVANS – 26a

Bernadine EVARISTO

Laura FISH

Aminatta FORNA – The Memory of Love

Beryl GILROY

Jackie KAY – Red Dust Road An Autobiographical Journey

Dorothy Koomson

Andrea LEVY

Sheree MACK

Dreda Say MITCHELL

Nadifa MOHAMED

Grace NICHOLS

Sharon DODUA

Winsome PINNOCK

Lou PRENDERGAST

Mary PRINCE

Joan RILEY

Mary SEACOLE

Khadijah (George) SESAY

Dorothea SMARTT

Zadie SMITH – NW/On Beauty/White Teeth/Swing Time (curently reading Feel Free)

Adela SOLANKE

Su ANDI

Debbie TUCKER GREEN

Yrsa DALEY-WARD – bone

Precious WILLIMAS

Oona KING

Irenosen OKOJIE

Hannah POOL

Yvette EDWARDS

Black British Men Writers:

Alex WHEATLE

Benjamin ZEPHANIAH

Caryl PHILLIPS – Crossing the River

Courttia Newland – The Gospel According to Cane

Diran ADEBAYO

Mike GAYLE

Paul GILROY

Ben OKRI

E. R. BRAITHWAITE

Gary YOUNGE