Bernardine Evaristo

Author

Bernardine Evaristo is a British author, academic, and literary activist whose work has transformed the landscape of British fiction. She became the first Black woman to win the Booker Prize, and her novels, short fiction, and poetry explore the experiences of Black people in Britain and across the African diaspora with innovation,... ambition, and infectious energy. Born in London in 1959 to an English mother and a Nigerian father, Evaristo grew up in Woolwich, southeast London. She trained as an actress at Rose Bruford College and co-founded the Theatre of Black Women in the 1980s before turning to writing. She is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University London. Girl, Woman, Other (2019) won the Booker Prize (shared with Margaret Atwood's The Testaments) — a novel following twelve characters, mostly Black British women, whose lives intersect across Britain from the 1960s to the present day. The novel was praised for its structural innovation, its warmth, its humour, and its celebration of the diversity of Black British experience. Her earlier novels include Lara, The Emperor's Babe (a verse novel set in Roman London), Soul Tourists, Blonde Roots (a satire reversing the history of slavery), Mr Loverman, and Hello Mum. Her novel-in-verse technique and her willingness to experiment with form set her apart from virtually every other contemporary British novelist. Manifesto: On Never Giving Up (2021) was her memoir, tracing her journey from a young Black woman in 1970s London to international literary recognition. Evaristo has been appointed OBE and CBE, and was named President of the Royal Society of Literature. The audiobook editions of Evaristo's works are vibrant and engaging. Her books and audiobooks are essential — the work of a writer who has expanded what British fiction can be and who it can speak for. Read more Show less