Little Island partners with Black & Irish for 'landmark' book

Little Island Books is collaborating with Black & Irish, an organisation that spotlights the experiences of Black and mixed race Irish people, to release a book celebrating Irish trailblazers.

Black and Irish: Celebrating Black Irish Legends, Trailblazers and Everyday Heroes will be published to mark Ireland’s Black History Month in October next year. World rights in all languages will be held jointly by the two organisations and administered by Little Island.

"Covering historic and current figures from the worlds of the arts, sport, business, politics and social activism, Black & Irish will also find space to celebrate everyday heroes: lesser-known figures making a difference in Irish communities today," the publisher’s synopsis reads.

The target audience is teenagers, though the publisher expects it to have crossover appeal among an adult readership. It will be backed by Little Island’s most ambitious marketing and promotional campaign to date, and will be supported by  Black & Irish’s online presence and podcast.

Publisher Matthew Parkinson-Bennett said: "We couldn’t be more excited to work alongside the dynamic Black & Irish team who are already making waves in Irish culture. This landmark book will be so important for young people in Ireland and will be of great interest to Irish communities around the world."

Black & Irish founder Leon Diop added: "We are thrilled to be partnering with Little Island to bring this book to life. Black & Irish has been focused on showcasing the stories of black and mixed-race people from all over Ireland and we are delighted that we can now do this in the form of a book. It is critical that as our communities become more diverse, they also become more aware and empathetic to others. We hope our book will be able to drive those values in every Irish person here and abroad."