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ONE TO WATCH: Tolu Agbelusi is one of the authors to be published under Jacaranda in 2020

LONDON INDEPENDENT publisher Jacaranda have announced plans to publish 20 black British authors in 2020.

It’s #Twentyin2020 initiative, has been supported by a group of individuals who donated £25,000 to the campaign which aims to “normalise” black writing and authors in the UK, The Guardian reports.

The campaign is being run in collaboration with Words of Colour - a creative communications agency that promotes, facilitates and develops writers of colour of all genres.

According to The Guardian Joy Francis, executive director at Words of Colour, called the current moment “an exciting time for independent publishing and black British writers who, for too long, have been under-celebrated and under-promoted”.

Taking to Twitter, Francis added: “We are excited to be collaborating with @JacarandaBooks on this vital #literary adventure - and what a line-up! Congrats to the wonderful 20! #Twentyin2020”

We are excited to be collaborating with @JacarandaBooks on this vital #literary adventure - and what a line-up! Congrats to the wonderful 20! #Twentyin2020 https://t.co/n63KAXiN3m

— Joy Francis (@WordsofColour) January 29, 2019

Jacaranda editorial manager Magdalene Abraha said: “As a young, black millennial who is a Londoner, I know that mainstream publishing does not quite represent the society I live in. The industry has a long way to go before it is truly representative … The #Twentyin2020 initiative will spearhead this much needed push. If a small, independent publisher like Jacaranda can publish 20 black British writers in one year, then there is no reason why larger publishers cannot match that.”

“We are in a time where people are rallying behind diverse initiatives … these donations show that people are eager and supportive of publishing to become more diverse,” said Abraha. “We hope that this will encourage unity and partnerships within the industry in favour of diverse writers and books.”

See the list of authors being published below:

Deadly Sacrifice by Stella Ahmadu
Of Mice and Men (working title) by DD Armstrong
Bad Love by Maame Blue
How to Make Sticky Finger Soup by Emmanuella Dekonor
If I Don’t Have You by Sareeta Domingo
The Street Hawkers Apprentice by Kabir Kareem-Bello
Love Again by Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm
Under Solomon Skies by Berni Sorga-Millwood
Black Star by Stephen Thompson
Lote by Shola von Rheinhold
Through the Leopards Gaze by Njambi McGrath
The Space Between Black and White by Esuantsiwa Jane Goldsmith
A Circle of Five by Harris Joshua
Are We Home Yet? by Kate Massey
Black History Walks by Tony Warner
Locating Strong Woman by Tolu Agbelusi
Jamakspeare by Brenda Garrick
The First Collection by Sarah Lipton-Sidibeh
Untitled by Hibaq Osman
On Reflection by Adjoa Wiredu

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