We have a new lineup for our Scottish Black Writers Group!
Scottish Black Writers Group is a free writers group facilitated by our Co-Director Dean Atta and in association with the Edinburgh International Book Festival. It is a monthly meetup open to writers across the UK and Ireland who are Black/from the African diaspora, including people of mixed heritage.
Scottish Black Writers Group is a space to meet, chat, network and talk about the writing life – writers both published and unpublished are welcome to join us.
Book now on Eventbrite
You may sign up for one, several or all writers group events.
Scottish Black Writers Group Calendar
Third Thursday of the month, 7-9 pm
Thu 21st October with Travis Alabanza
Thu 18th November with Joseph Coelho
In the past, we have been joined by guest speakers such as Eric Ngalle Charles, Leila Aboulela, Delia Jarrett-Macauley, Alex Wheatle, Nandi Jola, Nick Makoha and Dorothy Koomson.
Please be mindful when booking. The Scottish Black Writers Group is for writers based across the UK and Ireland who are Black/from the African diaspora, including people of mixed heritage.
Scottish Black Writers Group with Travis Alabanza
Date: Thu 21st October 2021
Time: 7-9pm
Facilitator: Dean Atta
A peer support and social space facilitated by Glasgow-based author Dean Atta for Scottish Black writers and Black writers based in Scotland to meet and discuss with Black writers from across the UK and Ireland, with a guest speaker each month courtesy of the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
In October we’ll be joined by Travis Alabanza. Travis Alabanza is an award-winning theatre maker, writer, and performer. A previous member of the Royal Court Young Writers group and Barbican young poets, their recent show Burgerz, which explored the intersections of transness and harassment, toured internationally to Sao Paolo, Southbank Centre, Bristol Old Vic, Smock Alley Dublin, HAU Berlin and Edinburgh Festival Fringe where it won the Total Theatre award. Other work includes My White Best Friend (Royal Court online), Skype d8 (Bush Theatre online) and In Tandem (Paines Plough online).
Alabanza has performed their solo work in a range of venues, galleries, and mediums including clubs such as the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, Latitude Festival, the V&A museum and universities and colleges including Oxford, Harvard and Bristol. In 2016/17, Travis was the youngest recipient of the Tate Gallery Workshop residency. Travis has written for Metro, Vice, Gal-Dem, The Independent, Dazed, Gay Times and more.
In 2018/19, Alabanza was listed on the Dazed100 – 100 people defining culture, awarded a Gay Times Honours award for their work in the LGBT+ community, and listed in the Evening Standard 25 Influential people under 25. Recently in The Times Style Bernadine Evaristo picked Alabanza as a ‘trailblazer of the future’ to watch.
Twitter: @travisalabanza
Instagram: @travisalabanza
Scottish Black Writers Group with Joseph Coelho
Date: Thu 18th Nov 2021
Time: 7-9pm
Facilitator: Dean Atta
A peer support and social space facilitated by Glasgow-based author Dean Atta for Scottish Black writers and Black writers based in Scotland to meet and discuss with Black writers from across the UK and Ireland, with a guest speaker each month courtesy of the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
In November we’ll be joined by Joseph Coelho. Joseph Coelho is a multi-award winning children’s author and playwright. He writes across several mediums for children including stage plays, picture books, non-fiction and middle grade. His latest ‘Story told in poems’ The Girl Who Became A Tree’ was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and received a special mention from the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2021. His latest stage play The Wishing Tree recently finished a run at the Little Angel Theatre in London. He wrote and presented ‘Teach Poetry’ – a 10-part BBC online series that aims to make the writing of poetry fun and accessible to all.
www.thepoetryofjosephcoelho.com
Twitter: @JosephACoelho
Instagram: @JosephCoelhoAuthor
Access
- All events are free.
- All events are suitable for people 18+ years.
- Events are hosted online using Zoom (instructions will be sent 2 days before each event or can be accessed via the Eventbrite Online Event page).
- To participate you will need an internet/wi-fi connection and a desktop or mobile device to join by audio and/or video.
- BSL interpretation/captioning/audio description provided on request during registration.
- Events over 2 hours long will have a comfort break in the middle. You may mute your mic/switch off video or take a break at any time.
- Please add any access requirements to the registration form.
- All SBWN events will adhere to our safer spaces policy. You can learn more about our policy here.
