John R. Gordon

Ten years in the writing, Drapetomania is an epic tale of black freedom, uprising, and a radical representation of romantic love between black men in slavery times. By NAACP Image Award nominee John R Gordon

Drapetomania: Or, the Narrative of Cyrus Tyler and Abednego Tyler, Lovers

Rikki Beadle-Blair

Phyll Opoku-Gyimah

An anthology of writings by Same Gender Loving Women of African/Caribbean descent with a UK connection, including bi, queer, non-binary and mixed race women.

An Anthology of Writings by Same Gender Loving Women of African/Caribbean Descent with a UK Connection

Sista!

A ground-breaking, provocative and diverse anthology of writing about black gay men's lives in the UK - essays, activist memoirs, (auto)biographies, poems and fiction, edited by multi-award-winning writers Rikki Beadle-Blair and John R Gordon. Contributors are: Adam Lowe, Ade Adeniji, Anu Olu, Bisi Alimi, Cheikh Traore, Cyril Nri, Daniel Fry, 'Danse Macabre', David McAlmont, Dean Atta, Diriye Osman, Donovan Christian-Carey, Donovan Morris, D'relle Wickham (Khan). Edd Muruako, Geoffrey Williams, Giles Terera, Jimmy Akingbola, John R Gordon, Keith Jarrett, Leee John, Leo Ofori, 'Merlin', Mickel Smithen, Paul J Medford, P J Samuels, Rhys Wright, Rikki Beadle-Blair, Dr Rob Berkeley, Robert Taylor, Rogue Scott, Reverend Rowland Jide Macaulay, Salawu Olajide, Tonderai Munyevu, Topher Campbell, Travis Alabanza, Z Jai Walsh

Black and Gay in the UK - An Anthology

Gemma Van Praagh

More Than! was created to inspire children to engage in a piece of extended writing outside of the everyday requirements of their school work. We asked the students of Stoke Newington School to discuss, workshop and explore sexuality identity issues by asking them to look 'beyond the label' of LGBTQ people. What are labels? Why are we given them? What do they do? How can they harm or protect us? It soon became apparent that this raised broader issues with some of our young people, such as: how it feels to be Muslim in the current political climate; why does a disability instantly dictate who people think you are? - and how it feels to be a 'geek'. The response we had from our students was overwhelming, with over 800 children submitting poems, scripts, songs, interviews, articles and other forms of insightful, eloquent and inspiring pieces of writing. Then, thanks to the kind efforts of many teachers, parents, governors and local members of our community the entries were read, marked and sorted into categories. We then selected approximately 70 students to take part in a development workshop-day lead by a fantastic team of artists, playwrights, journalists, actors, directors and writers. This day was remarkable to watch: students working alongside professionals to develop their work further, exploring form and potential final presentation of their piece. Edited by Gemma Van Praagh, John R Gordon and Rikki Beadle-Blair, this anthology includes pieces by: Anisa Khatun, Ayse Atun, Baran Kayman, Basak Altundal Bektas, Berry Coleman, Cassius Burley, Ceren Bektas, Ciar Wild, Connie Lammiman, Daniel-James Straughan, Deniz Aydin, Eddie Smith, Edith Wright, Elizabeth Fasulu, Faezah Manga, Fletcher Adams, Flora Kessell, Gabriel Devlin, Gunay Aksoy, Hallelujah Tedja, Hannah Finke, Hannah Ffychte, Jacob Fisher, Joe Halsey, Joel Cooper, Joshua Clark, Kate Hyatt, Leila Edelzstein, Lila Moar, Lily Crook, Lily McKay, Lorna Beckett, Louis Brine, Louis Powell, Lyra Robinson-Winning, Mack Quicke, Maliq Mussai-Mitchell, Marilyn Ferizaj, Martha Jack, Maya Isidore-Coyne, Mia Truman, Milly Mason, Minnie Court, Orla Newnham, Rachel Finke, Razana Djerkallis, Redrei Visaya, Rinesa Neziri, Rione Nurse, Sam Simmons, Servican Yeter, Shay Snipe Gayle, Skye Fitzgerald, Sophia Rivera Ramirez, Spike Sharkey, Stella Mathias-Stanley, Tamar Singer, Thomas O'Shea, Zoe Edwards

More Than!

A thrilling, hard-edged urban novel of gay Jamaican life in gangsta London by NAACP Image Award Nominee John R Gordon. 'Foreign... me haffi go a foreign...' Outed and driven from his homeland by a murderous mob, gay Jamaican Cutty Munroe arrives in London penniless and desperate. At first he is relieved to be given shelter by Buju Staples, a petty crook on the White City Estate, and his girlfriend Cynthia, but Cynthia soon wants to be rid of this 'wasteman' crashing on her man's sofa. Cutty, however, has nowhere else to go. Traumatised and lonely, Cutty falls in love with Buju, and starts to believe that Buju might share his feelings. One night while out on the rob Cutty makes a move on his spar. And then his troubles really begin... John R Gordon lives and works in London, England. He is the author of three novels, Black Butterflies, (GMP 1993), for which he won a New London Writers' Award; Skin Deep, (GMP 1997); and Warriors & Outlaws (GMP 2001), both of which have been taught on graduate and post-graduate courses on Race & Sexuality in Literature in the United States. He script-edited and wrote for the world's first black gay television show, Patrik-Ian Polk's Noah's Arc (2005-6). In 2007 he wrote the autobiography of America's most famous black gay porn star from taped interviews he conducted, My Life in Porn: the Bobby Blake Story, (Perseus 2008). In 2008 he co-wrote the screenplay for the cult Noah's Arc feature-film, Jumping the Broom (Logo) for which he received a NAACP Image Award nomination. The same year his short film Souljah (directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair) won the Soho Rushes Award for Best Film.

Faggamuffin

In his third novel, Gordon continues to explore the diversity of gay life in London, and specifically that of black gay men. Jazz, an aspiring politico and leader of the Panther Posse, shoots a cop. He seeks refuge with black drag queen Carly, a neighbour he has up to now ignored. Racism and homophobia complicate their relationship: Jazz's followers must deal with the fact that the man they look up to, idolise, in fact, is suddenly gay, Carly's friend Molly is threatened by the politicisation Jazz inspires in Carly. Gordon is adept at constructing a fast-paced, character-driven story that thrives on incident and debate. The shifting first person narrative makes for a deceptively easy read, and one comes away with a sense of having read about some complex issues almost by accident.

John R. Gordon

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