Black Women Speak Volumes!

Date: Friday, 6 March 2026

Venue: British Library, Pigott Theatre, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB

Time: 7.00–8.30pm, doors open at 6pm

Tickets: £12

‘Women have always been 50% of the population, but only occupy around 0.5% of recorded history’ (Bettany Hughes, 2016). In these fraught times, it has never been more important to hear the hidden diverse voices around us — particularly those of older black women, whose life experiences are frequently compelling and fascinating.

Join us to celebrate the launch of two powerful new books which showcase these stories via thought-provoking fiction and non-fiction: Yvvette Edwards’ tragi-comic novel, good good loving, and Challenging Britannia: Black British Women Speak Volumes, where creative entrepreneur Joy Francis interviews seven groundbreaking older black women in the arts. They are joined by broadcaster and writer Andi Oliver and our chair for the evening, Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo.

With music from Dominique Le Gendre accompanying film clips from the Joy Francis interviews with Paulette Randall, Dominique Le Gendre, Ingrid Pollard, Sharon Watson, Anni Domingo, Verna Wilkins and Valerie Bloom.

To book your ticket, please click here.

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Books will be available to buy on the night

‍Challenging Britannia: Black British Women Speak Volumes is edited by GPI Trustee Sharmilla Beezmohun and published by the George Padmore Institute for Speaking Volumes.

Good Good Loving by Yvvette Edwards is published by Virago.

Part of Speaking Volumes’ Women Speak Volumes Between Generations project

Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Burroughs Fund at Coastal Carolina University

Partners: 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, the George Padmore Institute and Words of Colour Productions

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