OWN IT! signs "significant new voice" MC Angel

OWN IT! is to publish a "groundbreaking" book of memoirs called Moments of Significance by poet, rapper and activist Shauna O’Briain professionally known as MC Angel.

Told through her personal experiences of growing up on an inner-city London council estate as a white working class queer woman, Moments of Significance is an exploration of society and the political told through a personal collage of experiences.

With accounts from Shauna’s childhood poverty to a "devastating" family revelation in Ireland; being bullied on her estate for being a lesbian to finding Buddhism, coping with the death of her mother to piecing together an identity through hip hop, poetry and art, O'Briain reinvents the way memoirs are written and through this collection of memories reveals layers of herself to "slowly build a unique relationship with the reader", the publisher said.

OWN IT! publisher Crystal Mahey-Morgan said: “More than a memoir, Moments of Significance is an exploration of being human and finding a place in the world. Of being ripped apart by circumstance and finding a way to piece yourself together. It takes us to the depths of despair but also shows us the strength of hope and how the the arts has the power not only to change lives but also to save them. It’s a book of compassion and humanity”.

MC Angel performs as a spoken word artist and hip hop emcee as well as writing page poetry. She has been filmed by Red Bull TV, BBC3 and Channel 4 for the “Women in Hip Hop” project. She has also appeared on BBC 1xtra Live Lounge as part of their spoken word season and performed up and down the country at festivals including Latitude, Secret Garden Party and Drop Beats Not Bombs.

OWN IT! acquired English print, translation, audio, digital, multi-media and Film and TV rights worldwide and will publish in March 2018.