By Joshua Robinson – 

On Saturday 27th April, there is a chance to hear from the acclaimed authors of two memoirs: Alex Wheatle’s ‘Sufferah: Memoir of a Brixton Reggae Head’ and Colin Grant’s ‘I’m Black So You Don’t Have to Be’.

Abandoned as a baby to the British care system, writer Alex Wheatle grew up with no knowledge of his Jamaican parentage or family history. Later, he is drawn to reggae, his lifeline through disrupted teenage years, the challenges of living as a young Black man in 1980s Britain and his imprisonment for protesting against systemic racism and police brutality.

Writer Colin Grant’s memoir is told through a series of intimate intergenerational portraits. Born in Britain to Jamaican parents, he was told that if he worked hard and became a doctor, his race would become invisible; he would shake off the burden he believed his parents’ generation had carried. The reality turned out to be very different.  

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday 27th April
• Time: 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
• Venue: Small Seeds, Castlegate (New Street junction), Huddersfield HD1 2UD
• Tickets: £5, online tickets: £2
• Age Guidance: 16+

Book tickets here: https://www.huddlitfest.org.uk/event/alex-wheatle-colin-grant/. This is a hybrid event, offering both in-person and online attendance options.

About Alex Wheatle:

Alex Wheatle spent most of his youth in the notorious Shirley Oaks children’s home and his youth was portrayed in Oscar Award-winning director Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series.

His first novel, Brixton Rock, was published in 1999 to critical acclaim and was followed by further YA and adult novels and memoirs. He has won several awards and in 2008 was awarded MBE for services to literature. His latest book is the memoir: Sufferah: Memoir of a Brixton Reggae Head. 

About Colin Grant:

Colin Grant is the author of six books. They include: 

• Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey
• A group biography of the Wailers, I & I, The Natural Mystics
• His memoir, Bageye at the Wheel, was shortlisted for the Pen/Ackerley Prize, 2013
• Grant’s history of epilepsy, A Smell of Burning, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year 2016
• Grant’s Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation, was a BBC radio 4 Book of the Week

Grant is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Director of WritersMosaic. 

Huddersfield Literature Festival (HLF) is an award-winning two-week Festival held annually in the spring. A blended Festival of around 70 digital, outdoor and venue-based events held online and at accessible spaces in Huddersfield, HuddLitFest champions accessibility, diversity and under-represented groups.

Showcasing emerging writers and artists alongside major names, the Festival offers a diverse programme of author talks, workshops, discussion topics, performance poetry, multi-arts performances, wellbeing projects, events for young people and family-friendly events. Click here or on the logo below to check out the latest updates from the festival on our dedicated page!

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