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Irenosen Okojie named Words of Colour first writer-in-residence
Words of Colour has named Irenosen Okojie as the creative communications agency’s first-ever writer-in-residence.
During her Bristol-based post, Butterfly Fish and Speak Gigantular (Jacaranda Books) author Okojie will work closely with Words of Colour to identify talented writers of colour and uncover forgotten black history.
The residency take place across Black History Month in October and will be based at Junction 3 LIbrary, Easton. Okojie will provide a writers’ workshop for women of colour at St Paul’s Community Centre on Tuesday 22nd October.
On 30th October, Okojie will host drop in writing sessions at Waterstones Bristol Galleries, followed by a launch of her new short story collection Nudibranch (Dialogue Books). At the end of the residency, Okojie will produce a specially commissioned piece of writing, which will feature exclusively on Words of Colour’s website.
Words of Colour executive director Joy Francis said: “Irenosen Okojie is one of the most original and bold voices in British literature today, so it is befitting for her to be our first ever Writer in Residence. We have profiled her writing journey over the years and have had the pleasure of working with her. Irenosen is not only a writer, but a literary activist who is passionate about supporting other writers of colour, which is also our mission.”
Words of Colour Productions is a London and Bristol-based creative communications agency that promotes, facilitates and develops writers of colour across genres and collaborates with arts and creative industries to increase cultural inclusion.
Okojie is an award-winning writer and new Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She was a recipient of the 2016 Betty Trask Award for her debut novel Butterfly Fish while her debut short story collection Speak Gigantular was shortlisted for the 2016 Jhalak Prize and 2017 Edge Hill Short Story Prize. In 2018, Okojie was signed by Dialogue Book by publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove who said had partly inspired the new Little, Brown imprint.
