Foyles joins forces with Jacaranda to celebrate black British writers

Foyles bookshop has joined forces with indie publisher Jacaranda for its Twenty in 2020 initiative, celebrating black British writers. 

Twenty in 2020, in collaboration with Words of Colour, is a trailblazing programme that will dedicate a year to publishing 20 works by black British writers. Foyles bookshop will be the official retail partner.

The collaboration will see events throughout the year with the #Twentyin2020 cohort and the Jacaranda team, culminating in a big finale celebration. There will also be promotions through Foyles’ physical and digital channels.

Foyles campaigns manager Heather Baker said: "We’re delighted to be working with Jacaranda Books on the Twenty in 2020 project. At Foyles we strive to curate and present a range of books that’s culturally inclusive, foregrounding the stories and reflecting the interests of all kinds of people, from all kinds of backgrounds. We jumped at the chance to work with them on this; to reinforce the project’s mission, to support and encourage independent publishing and new writing, as well as diversity in the books on our shelves."

The Twenty in 2020 cohort features The Long Way Home by DD Armstrong, Bad Love by Maame Blue, Looking for Bono by Abidemi Sanusi and If I Don’t Have You by Sareeta Domingo for fiction. If I Don’t Have You by Sareeta Domingo, The Street Hawkers Apprentice by Kabir Kareem-Bello and Love Again by Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm, round off the fiction titles alongside Deadly Sacrifice by Stella Ahmadu, Under Solomon Skies by Berni Sorga-Millwood, Dating in the 21st Century by Lisa Bent and Lote by Shola von Rheinhold. 

In non-fiction, Njambi McGrath's Through the Leopards Gaze is joined by The Space Between Black and White by Esuantsiwa Jane Goldsmith, A Circle of Five by Harris Joshua, Are We Home Yet? by Kate Massey and Black History Walks by Tony Warner. 

For poetry, the Twenty in 2020 cohort features Locating Strong Woman by Tolu Agbelusi, Untitled by Hibaq Osman, Jamakspeare by Brenda Garrick, The First Collection by Sarah Lipton-Sidibeh and On Reflection by Adjoa Wiredu. 

In a statement Jacaranda, which prides itself on being diversity-led, said: “We are thrilled to have Foyles as our official retail partner. Our Twenty in 2020 authors are from all over the UK so to be working alongside Foyles on events and promotion is brilliant for the initiative’s national reach. The Foyles team are great and we can’t wait to share what we have been working on.”