Kadija Sesay Editor & Author

Kadija Sesay (Author)
Kadija (George) Sesay, Hon. FRSL, FRSA, is a literary activist of Sierra Leonean descent. She is the founder of the magazine SABLE LitMag and creator of AfriPoeTree, a selective interactive video. She is the Publications Manager for Inscribe/Peepal Tree and editor of several anthologies including Six Plays by Black and Asian Women Writers and Write Black, Write British: From Postcolonial to Black British Literature. She co-edited Dreams, Miracles and Jazz: New Adventures in African Fiction with Helon Habila and Dance the Guns to Silence: 100 Poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa with Nii Parkes. She has published her creative writing in several anthologies, and a poetry collection, Irki (Peepal Tree, 2013). She is a co-founder of Mboka Festival of Arts, Culture and Sport in The Gambia and has received awards and fellowships for her work in the creative arts and her research, including an AHRC doctoral scholarship to research Black British publishers and Pan-Africanism.

Benjamin Zephaniah (Author)
Benjamin Zephaniah was a performer, musician, actor, and is one of the UK's best-known poets. He has written more than 30 books for adults and children and is known all over the world for his powerful writing and performances. Benjamin was a founding member of Artists Against Apartheid, and in 1996 he hosted the President's Two Nations Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London, at the request of Nelson Mandela. On August 29th 2007 he was the Master of Ceremonies at the unveiling of the statue of Nelson Mandela, again at his request, in Parliament Square. Benjamin was also a musician and was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley. As well as writing poetry, novels, screenplays and stage plays, Benjamin has also written and presented documentaries for television and radio. His poetry show Life & Rhymes won a BAFTA for 'best entertainment programme' in 2021. He has been awarded 13 honorary doctorates in recognition of his work and a wing at The
Ealing Hospital in West London has been named after him. He passed away in December 2023.