• RLF News
• Article

RLF Fellows’ News: April 2024

Publishing News

RLF Fellow Trish Cooke’s new children’s book, The Magic Callaloo, is set to be published by Walker Books on 4th April.

Illustrated by Sophie Bass, The Magic Callaloo is based on the fairytale Rapunzel and inspired by stories of enslaved Africans, in a vibrant story of community, magic, love and family. Trish says: “The Magic Callaloo pays homage to my ancestors and the roads they walked to freedom.”

RLF Fellow John Greening’s new poetry collection, From the East: 60 Huntingdonshire Codice will be published by Renard on 8 April.

Novelist and poet Jay Parini calls John “a poet whose unbounded curiosity has taken him through the wide (and often conflicted) world with a passion for details that root his work in place,” and this haunting collection is no different. The book can be read like a journal, tracking lines through the countryside and life that lie unchanged even through periods of upheaval.

Susan Fletcher‘s newest book The Night in Question will be published by Penguin on 18th April.

Florence Butterfield has lived an extraordinary life full of travel, passion and adventure. But, at eighty-seven, she suspects there are no more surprises to come her way. Then, one midsummer’s night, something terrible happens – so strange and unexpected that Florrie is suspicious. Was this really an accident, or is she living alongside a would-be murderer?

Susan, an RLF Fellow and grant beneficiary, says of her writing, “Frankly, I could not have written the novel without having been supported by the RLF.”

Diana Hendry’s new book, A Dangerous Job & Other Essays, will be published by Shoestring Press on 21 April.

The book follows Diana’s writing life, from her years as a “gauche Young Thing in the Literary Department of The Sunday Times” to her “slightly cranky eighties reviewing fiction for The Spectator” and the many roles she has played in between, including working as a journalist, an English teacher, an English Literature tutor, a hospital’s writer-in-residence, school-visiting children’s author, a poet delivering giving readings and workshops – and as RLF Fellow.

Events and Appearances

RLF Fellow Jonathan Buckley was recently the subject of BBC Radio 4 Open Book, discussing his novel, Tell, with Alex Clark. His other novels were subsequently featured on the Open Book booklist for readers. His interview is available to listen to on BBC Sounds.

Monique Roffey, RLF Fellow and Grants beneficiary, will appear at the Huddersfield Literary Festival on 20th April to discuss her new novel, Passiontide, which will be published in June under the Harvill Secker imprint.

Four women spark a revolution on a Caribbean island. Early one morning, at the close of St Colibri’s carnival, a young female steelpan player is found dead beneath a cannonball tree. It is a discovery that will transform the lives of everyone on this small island.

Monique will discuss Passiontide – the follow-up to her Costa prize-winning The Mermaid of Black Conch – in a hybrid in-person and online event at the Festival. You can buy tickets here.

Also appearing at the Huddersfield Literary Festival are WritersMosaic director Colin Grant and contributor Alex Wheatle who will be discussing their memoirs – Colin’s I’m Black So You Don’t Have to Be and Alex’s Sufferah –  in a hybrid in-person and online event on Saturday 27 April. Tickets are available here.

Colin and Alex will also join Michelle Scally Clarke to explore the poetry, music and legacy of Dr Benjamin Zephaniah (15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) at the Festival. The Tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah event also takes place on Saturday 27 April, and tickets can be bought here.

Other News

(l-r) Vayu Naidu, Shyama Perera, Rahila Gupta

RLF Fellows Vayu Naidu, Rahila Gupta and Shyama Perera are among nine commissioned artists contributing to Anthems of Arrival, which celebrates 25 years of the South Asian Diaspora Arts Archive (SADAA).

Available online now and with features being added throughout the month, Anthems of Arrival invites each of its contributors to reflect on their lives, influences, thoughts, and work in the UK over the past 25 years.

RLF Fellow Mark Blacklock has co-edited the first edition of Offal, a new magazine based on the cult AI-voiced comedy/ literature radio show or ‘audio zine’. Self-described as an “independent journal of literary offcuts, shedding new light on the leftovers, scraps and experiments of the creative process,” Offal can be bought online or in selected stores.

Ben Musgrave’s new play The Indigo Giant recently finished an extended tour of the UK. Produced by the Komola Collective, The Indigo Giant is a gripping, haunting new drama, inspired by Dinabandhu Mitra’s trail-blazing Indigo Mirror, a play that shook colonial India.

RLF Fellows can submit their news to us via the Contact Us page.

You might also like: