Event Programme
CORINNE BAILEY RAE: THE FREEDOM TO CHANGE
Venue : Barbican Theatre 15:00–16:00 | In conversation Chair: Gemma Cairney Twenty years after Put Your Records On made her a household name, Corinne Bailey Rae has spent every year since refusing to stay that artist. From that breakthrough debut to the radical, archive-built world of Black Rainbows, she
BARS AS LITERATURE: WRETCH 32 ON THE ART OF THE PEN
Venue : Barbican Theatre 17:00–18:00 | Wretch 32 in conversation | Chair: Suli Breaks Before there was a stage, there was a pen and a pad. Before there was a crowd, there were bars written in silence, rewritten, thrown away, rewritten again. Wretch 32 has spent two decades proving that
THE BLACK POETRY SHUTDOWN
Venue : Barbican Theatre 19:00–20:00 Featuring: Malika Booker, Jah Digga, SANITY, Kadija Sesay, Rachel Long, Casey Bailey, John Bernard, Ty’rone Haughton, Nick Makoha. Hosts: Nat & Stella (Poetic Temple) This is not an event. This is a shutdown. Ten of the UK’s most electric poets and performers take over
YOU’VE GOT A BOOK DEAL — NOW WHAT?
Venue : Pit Theatre 13:00–14:00 | Inside the Publishing Process | Powered by Hachette Yassine Belkacemi, Deputy Publishing Director, John Murray Group Claudine Sagoe, Senior Sales Executive, Hachette UK Fleur Sinclair, President of the Booksellers Association, Bookshop.org Board member and owner of the award-winning Sevenoaks Bookshop Chaired by Valentia Adarkwa-Afari,
CONFIDENT AND KILLING IT
Venue : Pit Theatre 15:00–16:00 | Workshop | Facilitator: Tiwalola Adebayo Confidence isn’t something you either have or you don’t. It’s a skill — one you can learn, practise, and build into the way you carry yourself every single day. Tiwalola Adebayo is the founder of Confident and Killing
THE BLACK INHERITANCE GAME — LIVE INTERACTIVE MURDER MYSTERY
Venue : Pit Theatre 17:00–18:00 | With Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Aleema Chair: Darran Griffith A wealthy family. A contested inheritance. A suspicious death. And a room full of potential detectives. In this live interactive game, you are not watching the mystery—you are solving it. Led by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, bestselling
HOW I GOT MY BOOK DEAL
Venue : Pit Theatre 19:00–20:00 | The real stories behind breaking into publishing Featuring: Salma Ibrahim, William Rayfet Hunter and Musih Tedji Xaviere Moderator: Lisa Bent A book deal can look like one life-changing email. The reality is usually years of writing, rejection, rewriting and refusing to give up.
BLACK FUTURES, BURIED TRUTHS
Venue : Auditorium 1 13:00–14:00 | Kelechi Okafor and Jeffrey Boakye on power, suspense and Black imagination What if the stories that take us beyond reality are also the sharpest tools for exposing it? Kelechi Okafor and Jeffrey Boakye enter the thrilling space where speculative fiction, suspense and social truth
FROM ZERO TO WEALTH
Venue : Auditorium 1 15:00–16:00 | How to Build Money, Assets and Financial Freedom Featuring: Ken Okoroafor, Mary Okoroafor Chair: Tru Powell What if building wealth was never about earning more — but about building the right habits? Sunday Times bestselling authors Ken and Mary Okoroafor went from starting
HOW TO TAKE OVER THE INTERNET
Venue : Auditorium 1 17:00–18:00 | Chair: Claire Linney Helena Okunzuwa (The Shade Borough), Paige Lewin & Brian Kapuku (ReadWithKapz) on building an audience that cannot ignore you. Going viral is easy. Staying relevant is the actual game. Helena Okunzuwa, Paige Lewin and Brian Kapuku didn’t get lucky — they
BLACK LOVE, BUILT TO LAST
Venue : Auditorium 1 19:00–20:00 | Chair: Afua Hagan Adrian and Tara Thorpe on 20 years of connection, commitment and choosing each other. What does it really take to love someone for more than 20 years? Adrian and Tara Thorpe step beyond the polished version of long-term love to
GIVING FLOWERS: The Women Who Built Black Publishing
Venue : Auditorium 2 13:00–14:00 | Chair: Jasmine Richards Featuring: Verna Wilkins (Tamarind Books), Bibi Bakare-Yusuf (Cassava Republic Press), Valerie Brandes (Jacaranda Books) Before the spotlight. Before the bestseller lists. Before the industry even thought to pay attention, there were women doing the work, building the shelves, making the space.
COULD YOUR BOOK BE NEXT?
Venue : Auditorium 2 15:00–16:00 | Inside the new Black British Book Festival × Pan Macmillan publishing collaboration The Black British Book Festival and Pan Macmillan are launching a groundbreaking, community-led publishing collaboration designed to discover, develop and publish exciting new voices. Unlike traditional publishing initiatives, the community will
THE GREAT SCIENCE SHOW
Venue : Auditorium 2 17:00–18:00 | Live science experiments with Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu is one of the most decorated scientists in Britain — a nanotechnology pioneer, a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and someone who has spent her career using chemistry to build
BLACK WOMEN AND THE THRILLER
Venue : Conservatory Terrace 19:00–20:00 | Secrets, suspicion and stories that refuse to let go Chair: Fee Mak Featuring: Imani Thompson, Leodora Darlington and Yemi Dipeolu The perfect marriage. The respectable family. The friend who knows too much. Behind every closed door, someone is hiding something. Imani Thompson, Leodora Darlington
PUT THE CHILD FIRST: A Toolkit for Successful Co-Parenting
Venue : Conservatory Terrace 13:00–14:00 | Aaron Dale in conversation Separation may end a relationship. It does not end the responsibility to raise a child together. In this honest, in-depth conversation, co-parent Aaron Dale (known online as @raisingboys2men) gets into what co-parenting actually requires — high emotions, strained communication, two
SEX, PLEASURE & FREEDOM
Venue : Conservatory Terrace 19:00 – 20:00 | Adults only Chair: Marcelle Akita Location: Auditorium 2 An intimate, judgment-free in conversation with Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah it’s no longer a workshop. What happens when Black women are given the freedom to speak honestly about sex, desire and their bodies? Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah,
WRITE IT OUT: HEALING THROUGH STORY
Venue : Conservatory Terrace 17:00–18:00 | Workshop | Facilitator: Marcia Hutchinson Writing can give shape to experiences we have carried silently—and sometimes help us release them. Marcia Hutchinson, author of the Women’s Prize-shortlisted The Mercy Step, leads a gentle, practical workshop exploring storytelling as a tool for reflection, clarity and
CAVE CANEM PRESENTS: THE SOUND OF BLACK BRITISH POETRY
Venue : Conservatory Terrace 15:00–16:00 Featuring: Raymond Antrobus, Courtney Conrad Moderator: Rommi Smith Two of the most distinctive voices in Black British poetry take the stage — not to talk about poems, but to read them, live, the way they were always meant to be heard. Raymond Antrobus and
HEARTLESS CREW
Venue : Level G Freestage 15:15–16:00 | Level G Freestage Legendary UK garage and grime pioneers Heartless Crew bring a full-throttle 45-minute set to the Level G Freestage — a shot of pure sound-system energy in the middle of the festival’s biggest afternoon slots. Free to all Festival Pass holders
RASTA GRANNY’S RAINBOW
Venue : Fountain Room + Foyer 13:00–13:30 | Storytime with Jessica Wilson | Ages 3–7 and their families Can Granny’s delicious Jamaican cooking turn Dylan’s gloomy day into a rainbow? Join award-winning poet and author Jessica Wilson for a joyful, interactive reading of Rasta Granny’s Rainbow—a colourful celebration of
MAYA & MARLEY: THE FRIENDSHIP ADVENTURE
Venue : Fountain Room + Foyer 14:00–14:30 | Interactive storytime with Laura Henry-Allain MBE | Ages 3–7 and their families Join award-winning author and creator of JoJo & Gran Gran, Laura Henry-Allain MBE, for a joyful reading of Maya & Marley and the New Friend, a warm story about kindness,
KID REX TO THE RESCUE!
Venue : Fountain Room + Foyer 15:00–15:30 | Superhero storytelling and character creation with Mayo Agard-Olubo & Diane Ewen | Ages 4–8 and their families An ordinary bedroom. An extraordinary mission. One superhero with unstoppable dinosaur powers. Join prize-winning author Mayo Agard-Olubo for a lively, imaginative session inspired by
SPOOKY STORIES FROM THE CARIBBEAN
Venue : Fountain Room + Foyer 16:00–16:30 | Interactive storytelling with Ashley Thorpe | Ages 7+ and their families Are you brave enough to hear the stories that come out after dark? Join Ashley Thorpe for a lively storytelling adventure filled with mysterious creatures, strange sounds and spooky tales from
SHAKE YOUR BANGLE! CARNIVAL PARADE
Venue : Fountain Room + Foyer 17:00–17:30 | With Dean Atta | Get ready to dance, jingle and celebrate! Join award-winning author and poet Dean Atta for an uplifting, interactive storytelling session celebrating his vibrant picture book Auntie’s Bangles. Starting with a reading straight from the pages of Auntie’s
CREATE YOUR OWN CROWN
Venue : Back of Curve (Level G) 13:15–13:45 | Interactive storytime and craft with Ella McLeod | Ages 4–10 and their families Every child deserves to see themselves as the hero of the story. Join author Ella McLeod for a joyful session inspired by Goldilocks, celebrating confidence, imagination and the
SAVE THE PLANET!
Venue : Back of Curve (Level G) 14:15–14:45 | A music, movement and storytelling adventure with Love Ssega | Ages 6–11 and their families Can you help save the planet? Join Love Ssega for a fun, action-packed adventure filled with music, movement and storytelling. Children will become planet heroes,
THE BIG “I CAN!” CHALLENGE
Venue : Back of Curve (Level G) 15:15–15:45 | A fun confidence-building event with Kimberly Whittam | Ages 8–14 Have you ever been told you are too young, too different or not good enough? In this fun, interactive workshop, Kimberly Whittam helps young people turn “I can’t” into “I can.”
JOURNEY: THE BLACK BRITISH PUPPET SHOW
Venue : Back of Curve (Level G) 16:15–16:45 | Created and performed by Delvene Pitt | A Family Show for Ages 5–11 Meet Josephine — a girl with a school project and a problem. Every “inspiring role model” she’s handed looks nothing like her. So, with her unlikely sidekick
How to Publish a Children’s Book
Venue : Back of Curve (Level G) 17:15–18:15 (60 mins) A Penguin Masterclass | Panel Event Everyone has an idea for a children’s book. Almost nobody knows how to actually get one published. In this practcal, insider panel, Penguin brings you behind the curtain of children’s publishing from the first
Not Half of Anything
Venue : Back of Curve (Level G) 18:45–19:45 Audience: Adults, parents, carers, educators and families with children aged 9+ Emma Slade Edmondson in conversation about growing up mixed-race in Britain. What does it mean to grow up mixed-race in Britain without the language, books or representation to fully understand