Thursday 5 November 2020, London England —- On Saturday 5 December, the Twentyin2020 Online Book Festival sponsored by Audible takes place celebrating a new wave of Black British authors.  The event is produced by Jacaranda Books – a leading independent publisher – in collaboration with bespoke live events producer FANE Productions and boutique marcomms and talent management agency TGRG. Twentyin2020 showcases 20 Black British authors, many of whom have made their writing debut with Jacaranda. 

The online festival will explore the Black experience through the work of the authors. Book lovers will be able to attend sessions including ‘Empowering Black women through Romance Writing’, ‘Between Two Worlds: Exploring Mixed-Race Identity’ and ‘The Poets of #TwentyIn2020’. There will also be conversations with Stella Oni, the author of Deadly Sacrifice, who’ll 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 event pays homage to the Twentyin2020 initiative, a first of its kind in the UK. Twenty titles by 20 Black Britons were published by Jacaranda Books in just one year. Covering adult fiction, nonfiction and poetry, the series aims to normalise the presence of diverse literature and to embed the voices of emerging Black authors as valued members of British culture and society.

On curating the festival, Sales, Publicity and Marketing Manager Jazzmine Breary 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. It is a day of collaboration, discovery, joy and unity. I cannot think of better partners than Alex Fane and Juanita Rosenior to bring this festival to life, nor a better time than December 5th, the last Black Pound Day of the year. We are once again so grateful to Audible UK for their continued support.”

On co-producing the event, 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 echos Alex Fane “I’m excited to be a part of bring 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). BCA is the UK’s only heritage centre dedicated to collecting, preserving and celebrating the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain.

Festival sponsor Audible UK said, “Jacaranda are a publisher of verve, integrity and ambition who have challenged conceptions and changed culture. Audible are delighted to partner with them, matching their passion and dedication. These are some of the most vital authors writing today, and it’s a privilege to partner their words with such a remarkable group of established and emerging actors.”

Audiences can view full listings for the Twentyin2020 Online Festival at fane.co.uk

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Editor’s Notes

  • For press enquiries please contact Juanita Rosenior at TGRG at juanita@tgrg.co.uk or 0203 375 6024
  • Opportunities to interview authors are available on  request 
  • The Twentyin2020 Online Book Festival will take place on Saturday 31 December 2020 from 12:00 -17:00
  • Jacaranda’s 20 Authors and their books are:
  • Lote – Shola Von Reinhold
  • Under Solomon Skies – Berni Sorga-Millwood
  • If I Don’t Have You – Sareeta Domingo
  • The Space Between Black and White – Esuantsiwa Jane Goldsmith
  • Through the Leopard’s Gaze – Njambi McGrath
  • Bad Love – Maame Blue
  • On Reflection – Adjoa Wiredu
  • Black History Walks – Tony Warner 
  • The First Collection – Sarah Lipton-Sidibeh
  • Jamakespeare – Brenda Garrick
  • Locating Strongwoman – Tolu Agbelusi
  • Looking for Bono – Abidemi Sanusi
  • Symona’s Still Single – Lisa Bent
  • The Street Hawker’s Apprentice – Kabir Kareem-Bello
  • Where The Memory Was – Hibaq Osman  
  • Ugly Dogs Don’t Cry – DD Armstrong
  • A Circle of Five – Harris Joshua
  • Love Again – Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm
  • Deadly Sacrifice – Stella Oni
  • Jacaranda Books is an award-winning independent publisher of award-winning adult fiction, non-fiction & YA. The ethos is simple – a commitment to publishing ground-breaking writing and creating space on the bookshelf for diverse ideas and writers. In 2020 Jacaranda Books was named Small Press of the Year by the British Book Awards. Jacaranda’s groundbreaking #Twentyin2020 publishing programme is the first time a UK publisher will publish twenty works by twenty Black British writers in one year. The works include adult fiction, nonfiction and poetry with the aim of normalising the presence of diverse and inclusive literature, and to inspire action from the publishing industry to invest in more inclusive publishing practices.
  • Fane produce and promote book and podcast tours. We have done this for the likes of Nigella Lawson, Fortunately Podcast, Malala Yousafzai, Ziauddin Yousafzai, Margaret Atwood, The Receipts Podcast, Elizabeth Day, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Fatima Bhutto, The High Low, Dame Judi Dench, Lady Glenconner, Candice Carty Williams, Ant & Dec, Sir Ian McKellen, Armistead Maupin, Pandora Sykes, Dolly Alderton, Tim Peake, Deliciously Ella, Nadiya Hussain, Adam Kay, Sir Michael Parkinson, Marian Keyes, Stacey Dooley, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, John le Carre, Elif Shafak, Jojo Moyes, Sandi Toksvig, Dame Julie Andrews and many more. www.fane.co.uk
  • TGRG Ltd is a multi-disciplined boutique agency with a passion for marketing, communications, PR, events and talent management. Their clients are atypical visionaries with the desire to uplift, empower and inspire. Their clients include multi-award-winning writer, producer and director Sheila Nortley, former superintendent and author Dr. Leroy Logan MBE, and 2020 Britain’s Got Talent finalist Magical Bones. TGRG was founded by Juanita Rosenior in 2017 and can be found at www.tgrg.co.uk
  • Black Cultural Archives is the home of Black British History, conceived in 1981 as a monument to hold space for the histories of people from across the African diaspora in British culture and history. We use our mission to collect, preserve and celebrate the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in the UK and to inspire and give strength to individuals, communities and society.
    Our HQ is 1 Windrush Square in Brixton, London. At our HQ we run a series of gallery exhibitions, educational programmes and public engagement events. We provide free access to our unique set of archives, museum objects and reference library.