Author Ellen Aaku is documenting the experiences of black individuals and families

The award-winning writer is helping everyday people tell their stories

SHARING STORIES: Author Ellen Aaku centre with a participants of one of her workshops

A TEACHER by nature, writer Ellen Aaku was born to Zambian parents in the UK, but split her time between both continents, ultimately obtaining her degree from the University of Zambia.

An experienced author of children’s books, adult fiction and creative nonfiction, Aaku’s work has seen her win the Commonwealth Short Competition, the Penguin Prize for Writing and the Macmillan Writer’s Prize. 

She is also heavily engaged in education, teaching writing to adults and children in Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. 

PICTURED: Ellen Aaku

Today Aaku’s work also involves chronicling the life stories and experiences of black individuals in the UK. This is something she does in partnership with StoryTerrace, a biography writing service that matches individuals with ghost writers and helps people to turn their life story into a book.

“I believe that to write about someone you need to understand and ‘feel’ them as a person. The connection creates trust and a space where the person telling their story is comfortable to talk honestly without feeling judged. As a writer it’s important for me to feel the storyteller feels I ‘get’ their story and the connection enables that,” Aaku said.

In her most recent project with StoryTerrace, Aaku, has been working to document the life story of Subrena Joseph of STUBS Disability Coaching.

Subrena Joseph with her autobiography

Joseph’s autobiography, which has been ghost-written by Aaku, follows her own life experiences as a black woman with a disability and highlights the different struggles she has been faced with.

With the help of Aaku and StoryTerrace, Joseph recounts the difficulties and discrimination she experienced in her early life and into her adulthood, and documenting the methods she uses to overcome the barriers she has faced. Joseph also discusses her work as a social worker for youths and adults, and the road to creating her very own charity, Striving Towards Understanding Barriers (STUBS), which offers disability life coaching to help young people and adults live a full and happy life while coping with disabilities.

Founder of StoryTerrace, Rutger Bruining, said: “At StoryTerrace, we have documented thousands of life stories of people from all backgrounds, and if there’s one thing that we have learned, it’s that every person’s personal story and experiences have the power to inspire and educate others. 

“This is why we feel extremely privileged and excited to be working with a writer such as Ellen, whose work in literature for adults and children, as well as her work in teaching writing to people in several African countries, has been instrumental in helping thousands of people to tell their stories and learn from the experiences of others.”

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