Celebrating Authors of African and Caribbean Heritage

It’s so important to get a real diversity of writers. There’s this idea that there’s a certain type of Black writer, or Black writing, which illustrates the experience of British and Irish writers of African and Caribbean heritage. I wanted to make sure that, where possible, I had a mix of different people across the UK and Ireland rather than just being London-centric. I was also really keen that we weren’t just looking at fiction writers, but that the longer list included poets, playwrights, journalists – all people who are story tellers.

My experience from doing my own GCSEs was that the focus on Black writing tended to be on African-American writers, rather than on writers of African and Caribbean heritage closer to home. My hope is to encourage teachers and their students to think about who is missing from their reading lists and to seek them out, whether that’s Black writers from the UK and Ireland, or other writers marginalised in the curriculum.

The curriculum is only half the story though – with subjects like English and History you’re supposed to read around the subject anyway, so the chance to fill in any holes in the prescribed reading list is already there. Teachers don’t need to wait for the curriculum to be decolonised to ensure that when they make recommendations for wider reading, each of their students should see themselves reflected in that list.