Koomson headlines PRH's Becoming festival

Novelist Dorothy Koomson is joining Slay in Your Lane authors Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené to headline the three-day BGF x Becoming Festival in London next month.

Penguin Random House is partnering with the Black Girl Festival to celebrate Michelle Obama’s bestselling memoir, Becoming (Viking) at Canada Water Library from 9th April to 11th April. Speakers include Koomson, shadow home secretary Diane Abbott as well as Adegoke and Uviebinené of Slay in Your Lane (4th Estate). The book was published last spring, following a nine-publisher auction, and billed as a "a guide to life for a generation of black British women".

Though Obama herself will not be appearing at the festival, "attendees will have the chance to celebrate the values espoused by the former First Lady through talks and workshops inspired by the themes of Becoming”. 

Following the festival announcement earlier this month, the free tickets sold out in less than 24 hours, Viking said.

Obama is scheduled to appear at a sold-out event at the O2 Arena in London on 14th April as part of her ongoing international book tour for Becoming. Tickets for her first live appearance in the UK, on 3rd December at the Royal Festival Hall, sold out within minutes.