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

Literature & Fiction

Gordon, John R.

United States

Team Angelica Publishing

A new book of motivational daily meditations from writer-director Rikki Beadle-Blair, author of 'What I Learned Today' encouraging readers to seize control of their lives and take responsibility for discovering, nurturing and displaying their inner joy to the world. Practical, tough-minded, uplifting.

Reasons to Live

Self-Help

Beadle-Blair, Rikki

Creativity

Colour Scheme

From the author of black gay urban novels Faggamuffin and Colour Scheme: When violent thug Evill and his drug-dealing South London crew menace Stanlake, a young African refugee, and his mother Poppy, little do they realize that this effeminate youth is a former child soldier, capable of the most extreme responses. Forced to meet violence with violence, Stanlake stands up to his tormentors, only to find himself drawn into a darkly erotic and passionate relationship with the damaged, closetted Evill. As love begins to bloom between the two deeply-scarred young men old evil erupts, threatening to consume them both and compelling Stanlake to face - and move beyond - his past. "A breathless, cinematic thrill-ride of a novel... Sweeps you up and envelops you in its unique world... this is what novels are for. Stunning." - Rikki Beadle-Blair

Souljah

'WINNER 2016 LAMBDA BEST TRANS FICTION LITERARY AWARD' In the 1980s, poet and activist Roz Kaveney wrote a novel, 'Tiny Pieces of Skull', about trans street life and bar life in London and Chicago in the late 1970s. Much admired in manuscript by writers from Kathy Acker to Neil Gaiman, it has never seen print until now...Funny and terrifying by turns, and full of glimpses of other lives, it is the story of how beautiful Natasha persuades clever Annabelle to run away from her life and have adventures, more adventures than either of them quite meant her to have... 'A certain classic, a definitive portrait of trans outside the niceties of middle class daydreams. Brava, sister mine.' - Kate Bornstein, writer and activist 'Even now I find it hard to put into words quite how moving and marvellous I found it. It's an astonishing, troubling book; scalpel-sharp; brittle; bleak and brave. I feel sure it will upset a great number of people in all the right ways. In fact, I hope it does: literature should be a call to arms, not a sleeping-pill. Congratulations on bringing this story out of the dark.' - Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat and The Gospel of Loki

Tiny Pieces of Skull

Kaveney, Roz

Literary

Olawale and Oluwole are dreadlocked Yoruba lawyers, minority human rights activists fighting for a better Nigeria. Bisexual and closeted, Olawale has spent his adult life protecting and defending his charismatic, more evidently homosexual twin; but when the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act becomes law, they, their family, and the women who love them are caught in a savage spotlight that threatens to wreck all their lives. In the midst of this Wole and Wale must deal with an estranged convict father whose unexpected reappearance brings dark and troubling family secrets to light. Fimí sílẹ̀ Forever celebrates the enduring power of love, desire, faith, patriotism and human rights struggle in the face of political oppression and religious prejudice in Nigeria today. It extends the literary conversation begun by Jude Dibia and continued by Chinelo Okparanta.   “Nnanna Ikpo is that rare thing, a Nigerian in Nigeria writing about LGBT life there. For that, he is to be treasured.” Rev. Jide Macaulay, founder, House of Rainbow “…a brave work that seeks to counter the narrative of victim homosexuals in Nigeria’s state-sanctioned homophobia. Twins, young, lawyers, would-be Afropolitans, Wale and Wole Damian are LGBT defenders and litigators determined to challenge Nigeria’s anti-homosexuality law and change social mores around multiple sexualities and gender identities. In Fimí sílẹ̀ Forever the twins and Nigeria’s LGBTI community are determined to live their lives to the fullest, in the closet and out, get married, go underground, and have lovers. It’s a survival that engages and is presented with richness and complexities. Wale explains his need for women as central to his life, but he is also aware of the difference between love and desire. In this case one may love women, but it is men that are desired. The tensions and fear aroused by the passing of the anti-homosexuality bill, and the multiple challenges that survival and life require, are woven throughout the text. We are never quite sure if the twins will survive the risk it takes to live an LGBTIQ reality in Nigeria.” Sokari Ekine, Queer Africa Reader “…a loving, exasperated, optimistic, and troubling depiction of contemporary Nigeria, rich with insights that enrich our understanding of the struggles for human rights and sexual health throughout the continent. Beautiful and idealistic, thoughtful and horny, his young characters navigate the shoals of sexuality, family, social media, and careers in the context of shifting traditional values, Nigeria’s fraught political scene, and today’s easy global connections.” Marc Epprecht, Sexuality and Social Justice in Africa; Hungochani “…a fascinating first novel …exciting, troubling, passionate and earnest. Nnanna makes a compelling case for Africans to celebrate sexual and gender diversity, without necessarily rejecting the traditions and ways which root citizens in their homelands.” Pierre Brouard, Deputy Director, Centre for Sexualities, AIDS & Gender, University of Pretoria “Fimí sílẹ̀ Forever is honestly well written. A great ability to capture a scene in a few telling words and a character through dialogue. Nnanna succeeds in vernacularising and humanising LGBT, mixing personal and political deftly.” Prof Frans Viljoen, Director: Centre for Human Rights, Professor of International Human Rights Law, University of Pretoria

Fimi sile Forever: Heaven gave it to me

Ikpo, Nnanna

When a young black man, Brian, dies in police custody, it sends shock waves across the community. Reeling from his death, Brian's family struggle to make sense of their loss, whilst pursuing a lengthy court battle to clear his name. Based on the lived experience of creator Urbain Hayo, AKA Urban Wolf, and conceived by him, this stark and timely new play, written by Tom Wainwright and performed in March 2017 at London's Ovalhouse theatre, explores how young black men are slipping through the cracks in society. How do you fight for justice in a system where nobody is on your side? This is the playtext of the 2017 production, and includes author and director statements, and cast and creative biographies.

Custody

Wainwright, Tom

Dramas & Plays

A new full-length play by multi award-winning Rikki Beadle-Blair, a cutting-edge romantic comedy about homeless, pansexual, multiracial trans youth and elders, all searching for love and for somwhere to live as a sweltering London summer draws towards its close. Originally performed at London's legendary Theatre Royal Stratford East in July 2017 with an all-trans cast, Summer in London was written, directed, and included a sondtrack composed by Rikki Beadle-Blair. The book includes full cast and crew biogs. Could you find love in London on zero budget? Join four cheeky lads as they compete to win the heart of a beautiful woman called Summer on four free dates across London. Though secretly homeless - and broke - they use every trick in the book to find cost-free ways to impress her. We follow the streetwise romeos on boat rides, to museums, parks and firework displays as they try to win their date. As the sun sets and the drinks flow things get complicated, and we discover nothing is as it first appears. This hilarious new romcom is about friendship, finding love and being yourself.

Summer in London

From Victoria Island, Lagos to Brooklyn, U.S.A. to Accra, Ghana to Paris, France; from across the Diaspora to the heart of the African continent, in this memoir Nigerian journalist Chike Frankie Edozien offers a highly personal series of contemporary snapshots of same gender loving Africans, unsung Great Men living their lives, triumphing and finding joy in the face of great adversity. On his travels and sojourns Edozien explores the worsening legal climate for gay men and women on the continent; the impact homophobic evangelical American pastors are having in many countries, and its toxic intersection with political populism; and experiences the pressures placed on those living under harshly oppressive laws that are themselves the legacy of colonial rule - pressures that sometimes lead to seeking asylum in the West. Yet he remains hopeful, and this memoir, which is pacy, romantic and funny by turns, is also a love-letter to Africa, above all to Nigeria and the megalopolis that is Lagos.
PRAISE FOR 'LIVES OF GREAT MEN'
“Frankie Edozien's The Lives of Great Men is an incredibly powerful portrayal of what it means to be a gay Nigerian man. But what makes this book so outstanding is its tender and insightful exploration of all the complicated, unspoken bonds in our most intimate relationships. In prose that is at once engaging and inquisitive, Edozien holds the human heart to light and finds the ways it manages to survive despite it all.”
 Maaza Mengiste, author of Beneath the Lion’s Gaze
“Frankie Edozien writes with an urgency that is compelling, with a vulnerable honesty that is disarming and impressive, and with elegance about his life and a subject so risky and yet necessary. This is not a memoir of coming out gay in Nigeria as much as it is a call to step into our humanity. A necessary and courageous book.”
Chris Abani, author of GraceLand and The Secret History of Las Vegas

Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man

Biographies & Memoirs

Edozien, Chike Frankie

Community & Culture

A joyous and groundbreaking UK-based anthology of writings by and about Same Gender Loving Women of African/Caribbean descent, including bi, queer, non-binary and mixed race women, Sista! showcases 31 contributors, offering a mix of biography/memoir, essays/think-pieces, fiction and poetry, and is the companion volume to Team Angelica's 2015 anthology, Black & Gay in the UK.Contributors include: Andreena Bogle-Walton, babirye bukilwa, Chardine Taylor-Stone, Christina Fonthes, Clementine Ewokolo Burnley, Delphine Spencer, Doreene Blackstock, Eileen Bellot, Germaine Joseph, Gray Akotey, ‘Jenn’, Jennifer Daley, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Kayza Rose, Kesiena Boom, Lettie Precious, Mica Hamilton, Mojisola Adebayo, Monica Beadle, ‘Nea Semba’, Olivette Cole-Wilson, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, PJ Samuels, Remi Graves, Sokari Ekine, Roxanne Simone, Roxene Anderson, Rue Gumbochuma,Tamara McFarlane, Valerie Mason-John, Yrsa Daley-Ward.Editors are Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Rikki Beadle-Blair and John R Gordon 

Sista!: An anthology of writings by Same Gender Loving Women of African/Caribbean descent with a UK connection

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