Saturday 1st June saw me travelling up to Brixton for the launch of
Writing our Legacy’s Hidden Sussex anthology at the Brixton Ritzy Cinema and cafe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was great to see the launch attended by so many people, and to have been able to listen to a number of the writers read extracts from their work. Something that made the whole experience very personal. With the readings over, people had the chance to buy copies of the anthology and get them signed by those authors present.

It has to be remembered that projects and events like this don’t just happen on their own. Behind the anthology a dedicated team led by the amazing Amy Zamarripa Solis from This Too Is Real have spent many, many hours toiling away to make it a success.

Click on the book cover below to go to Writing our Legacy’s website

The anthology aims to debunk outdated but still current stereotypes of Black people through a reimagining of the Sussex landscape from the Black, Asian and minority ethnic perspective.

Twenty-three contributors from across East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton tell their own very personal stories and narratives.

The anthology tells stories of many firsts –
First trip to Afro-Caribbean hairdressers, first sexual awakenings, first visit to the Chattri War Memorial to fallen Indian soldiers in Brighton.
The writing also deals with middles and ends –
Such as raising children, solitary pursuits, and the deaths of friends and family.

The book transports the reader not just to local places of interest such as Cuckmere Haven and Brighton Pavilion, but also farther afield. To Pakistan, India and Iran. Some of the authors deal with pressing issues of contemporary Britain, including Brexit and the Windrush scandal, while others cast their eye over history and the natural environment.

Contributors are: Georgina Aboud, Jenny Arach, Sheila Auguste, Alinah Azadeh, Priti Barua, Bebb Burchell, Josef Cabey, Suchi Chatterjee, Lisa Climie, Joyoti Grech Cato, Sally-Claire Fadelle, Josephine Hall, Jasmine Harris, Maggie Harris, L Oluwafemi Hughes Jonas, Farah Edwards Khan, Dulani Kulasinghe, Georgina Parke, Annie Richardson, Zaid S Sethi, Hayat Nezameddin Shehab, Sonny Singh and Nina Thaddeus.

 

Hidden Sussex is available in ebook from Amazon
and in paperback for £10 plus postage & handling from This too is Real

Event photos courtesy of Bip Mistry