Brave New Words: The Power of Writing Now (published by Myriad on 7 Nov), a collection of fifteen specially commissioned essays exploring the place of the writer, past and present, the value of critical thinking and the power of the written word.
The book includes an original essay by Bernardine Evaristo – What a Time to be a (Black) (British) (Womxn) Writer – in which she explores contemporary social media and the boom of black British writers linking back to her own origins as a writer.
The book is edited by Susheila Nasta and published to celebrate 35 years of Wasafiri, the magazine of international contemporary writing. . Wasafiri’s 100th issue is published in November too. In addition The British Library have recently announced that they have acquired the Wasifiri archive.
The contributors to Brave New Words are: Bernardine Evaristo, Githa Hariharan, Eva Hoffman, Romesh Gunesekera, James Kelman, Tabish Khair, Kei Miller, Blake Morrison, Mukoma wa Ngugi, Hsiao-Hung Pai, Olumide Popoola, Shivanee Ramlochan, Bina Shah, Raja Shehadeh and Marina Warner.
Their essays explore the role of “brave new words” in the battle against limitations in the fundamental rights of citizens, the closure of borders, fake news and reluctance to engage with critical democratic debate.
