MAGDALENE ABRAHA is the woman that everyone in the literary world is talking about. 

The writer and editorial manager for Jacaranda Books will be releasing A Quick Ting On  – the first ever non-fiction book of its kind, which focuses on random topics of cultural relevance to the black British community.

The first eight books in the series covers a wide range of topics from plantain and Afrobeats to bamboo earrings and black British businesses and features many debut black British writers.

The series was inspired by conversations Abraha would regularly have and resulted in her collaborating with her friends to create the book series which pays homage to all things that inspire black Britons.

COLLECTIVE

The A Quick Ting On Collective consists of Abraha, plus size model and influencer Sophia Tassew, cultural producer Tobi Kyeretmateng, writer and business owner Tskenya- Frazer Sarah, writer and social commentator Chanté Joseph, mathematician and model Zainab Kwaw-Swazy, writer and curator Christian Adofo, social commentator and youth worker Franklyn Addo and writer, illustrator and youth worker Rui Da Silva.

Together, the collective have created the book series with an aim to explore these individual topics in depth, with each author carefully selected each book which has been curated by Abraha.

The books will be released October 2020 and will be published by Jacaranda Books – the award-winning independent publisher dedicated to diverse books. In January, the publisher announced plans to publish 20 black British authors by 2020 in a campaign with Words of Colour.

At the time of the announcement, Abraha said: “As a young, black millennial who is a Londoner, I know that mainstream publishing does not quite represent the society I live in. The industry has a long way to go before it is truly representative.

“The #Twentyin2020 initiative will spearhead this much needed push. If a small, independent publisher like Jacaranda can publish 20 black British writers in one year, then there is no reason why larger publishers cannot match that.

“We are in a time where people are rallying behind diverse initiatives … these donations show that people are eager and supportive of publishing to become more diverse,” said Abraha. “We hope that this will encourage unity and partnerships within the industry in favour of diverse writers and books.”