Ten voices of Black British literature

Samantha Orciel, English Subject Advisor

It’s Black History Month in the UK, which is a great opportunity to celebrate and recognise the wealth of Black literature in our culture. Below are some highlights of the life and work of ten living Black British writers, along with links to some classroom resources.

Bernardine Evaristo OBE - born 1959

Bernadine was born in south-east London. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a councillor for the Labour Party. Bernadine is a longstanding advocate for the inclusion of writers and artists of colour, and her work spans prose, verse drama, essays and academic writing.

Bernadine is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University. Winner of the Booker Prize in 2019. In June 2020, Bernadine became the first woman of colour and the first Black British writer to assume the number one spot in the UK paperback fiction charts.

Texts to try in the classroom:
Girl, Woman, Other (prose, 2019)
Lara (verse novel, 1997)
The Emperor’s Babe (prose, 2001).

Jackie Kay CBE - born 1961

Jackie was born in Edinburgh. Jackie was adopted at birth and was brought up in Glasgow, studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Stirling University where she read English. 

Although she is best-known for her poetry, her first novel won the Guardian Prize for Fiction. Jackie has also written award-winning short story collections and works for stage and screen, with much of her work focusing on ideas around identity. 

From 2016 to 2021 Jackie Kay was the Makar: the poet laureate of Scotland. Jackie is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. 

Texts to try in the classroom: 
Other Lovers (poetry, 1993) 
Trumpet (prose, 1998) 
Reality, Reality (short stories, 2011).

Winsome Pinnock - born 1961

Winsome was born in North London. Her plays have been produced on the British stage and internationally since 1985. Winsome was the first black British female writer to have a play produced by the Royal National Theatre. 

Winsome has been Visiting Lecturer at Royal Holloway College, University of London, and Senior Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge. She currently lectures at Kingston University, London, and this year she was the recipient of a Windham-Campbell Literature Prize for drama. 

Texts to try in the classroom: 
Leave Taking (drama, 1988) 
Mules (drama, 1996) 
Rockets and Blue Lights (drama, 2018).

Malika Booker - born 1970

Malika was born in London. She is an award-winning poet and artist who studied anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Malika has also written for radio and the stage, and founded a poetry collective called Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. 

Malika was the inaugural Poet in Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company, in 2020 she won the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem for ‘The Little Miracles’. 

Texts to try in the classroom:
Pepper Seed (poetry, 2013)
The Way We See It, The Way It Is (poetry, 2004)
Breadfruit (poetry, 2007).

Jacob Sam-La Rose - born 1976

Jacob was born in London. He is a poet, performer, educator and editor who has performed and taught internationally. Jacob’s first collection was shortlisted for a Forward Poetry Prize (the Felix Dennis Award) and the Aldeburgh Fenton award. 

In 2009, Jacob was one of 12 poets commissioned by Arts Council England to produce new work to mark the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. Jacob currently lectures at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and at Goldsmiths University.

Texts to try in the classroom:
Breaking Silence (poetry, 2012)
Communion (poetry, 2006).

Inua Ellams - born 1984  

Inua was born in Nigeria, and now lives in London. Innua is a poet, playwright, performer, graphic artist and designer. Identity, displacement and destiny are key themes of his work. 

Inua has written for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre and the BBC. In 2020 he won the Medal for Poetry at the Hay Festival.

Texts to try in the classroom:
Barber Shop Chronicles (drama, 2017)
The Half-God of Rainfall (poetry, 2019)
The Actual (poetry, 2020).

Raymond Antrobus - born 1987

Raymond was born in London. Raymond is a poet, educator and writer, who originally trained as a teacher. He was one of the first recipients of an MA degree in Spoken Word Education from Goldsmiths, University of London, and has held multiple residencies in schools, as well as at Pupil Referral Units.  

Raymond has written extensively about his Jamaican-British heritage and experience of deafness. Raymond has won the Ted Hughes Award and the Rathbones Folio Prize.

Texts to try in the classroom:
The Perseverance (poetry, 2018)
To Sweeten Bitter (poetry, 2017)
All the Names Given (poetry, 2021).

Warsan Shire - born 1988 

Warsan was born in Kenya and moved to England at the age of one. She is a poet, editor and teacher, who has performed her poetry throughout the world. Warsan wrote the poetry for Beyoncé’s 2016 video essay Lemonade. Her main interest is writing about and for marginalised groups of people. 

Warsan is the poetry editor of the magazine SPOOK. In 2013, Warsan won Brunel University’s first African Poetry Prize and was named the Young Poet Laureate for London. 

Texts to try in the classroom:
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head (poetry, 2022)
Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth (poetry, 2011)
Her Blue Body (poetry, 2015).

Caleb Femi - born 1990

Caleb was born in Nigeria and moved to London at the age of seven. He is a poet, filmmaker and photographer. Caleb worked as an English teacher before being chosen as the Young People’s Laureate in 2016. 

Caleb's debut collection of poetry won the Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection as well as making the shortlist for the Rathbones Folio Prize.  Caleb has also directed TV and films for HBO, the BBC and Channel 4. 

Texts to try in the classroom:
Poor (poetry, 2020).

Theresa Lola - born 1994

Theresa was born in Nigeria and moved to London at the age of 13. At university, they studied Accounting and Finance, before taking part in the Barbican Young Poets programme. In 2017 Theresa won the Hammer and Tongue National Poetry Slam and was shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Prize.

In 2018, Theresa was the joint winner of the Brunel International African Poetry Prize, and in 2019 they became the Young People’s Laureate for London, taking over from Caleb Femi. 

Texts to try in the classroom:
In Search of Equilibrium (poetry, 2019).

To conclude

This list features just a small selection of living Black British writers. You can find out about more writers, as well as other inspirational Black people, on the Black History Month website. 

Texts from all of these writers are part of our specifications for GCSE English Literature, A Level English Literature and A Level English Language and Literature.

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About the author

Prior to joining OCR in September 2022, Sam spent ten years teaching a range of English qualifications in secondary schools, including as a head of department. She did this alongside completing a MSt in Advanced Subject Teaching at the University of Cambridge, specialising in A level English curricula and pedagogy. 

In her spare time, you'll find her either fussing over her dog, watching tennis, or (predictably!) reading anything and everything.