It all started with…
Frustration. In 2020, I completed a novel that I had been working on for several years, and I was sick of the rejection emails. I attended a writing club and found much of the advice useful, until one day, I realised that my mentor (well-meaning as she was) struggled to understand the heart of my very Black and very unapologetic story. I became paranoid, finding it hard to discern between industry-helpful advice, and other suggestions that were perhaps a result of her white, middle-class environment. I desperately craved a Black mentor.
As a result, I set up this writing club to provide a space for Black women of all identities to receive mentoring from industry professionals. I believe that critique will be richer and more valuable if it comes from someone who can empathise with minority experiences.
After doing a Twitter campaign during the height of the #BlackLivesMatter protests, authors, agents, editors and publishing directors flooded my inbox with offers to help. Six months later, we now have almost 30 mentors from diverse backgrounds, all excited to nurture Black talent. By the end of 2020, one of our mentees got signed by an agent and offered a 2-book deal with Virago/Little, Brown. She will be the first of many.
There is a colour problem in the UK publishing industry. Let’s change that.
Get in touch
Email: info@blackgirlwriters.org
Twitter: @BlkGirlWriters
IG: @BlackGirlWriters
Team
founder
Jackson P. Brown
Jackson P. Brown is the pen name of Abigail Jackson, a writer from London. At the end of 2020, her debut novel, The World Began in 2019, was chosen to be part of Penguin’s Write Now programme for underrepresented writers, and she is currently working with a Penguin editor to get it ready for publication. Prior to this life-changing opportunity, it was rejected by 20 agents. She also has a personal blog where she writes anime and manga reviews, short stories, and documents her road to publication.
Personal Blog
Socials
• @_JackPBrown on Twitter
• @flowerstormdanann on IG
• @BlackGirlWriters on IG
Contact
• info@blackgirlwriters.org
Communications lead
Moyette Gibbons
Moyette is a writer, editor and journalist. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. Her novel-in-progress was shortlisted for the TLC Pen Factor Award 2021 and a finalist at the David Higham Associates literary agency's Open Week for Writers. Originally from London, she now lives in Switzerland.
Socials
@MoyetteG on Twitter
Contact
communications@blackgirlwriters.org