How Do You Decolonize and Diversify Your Bookshelf? Deirdre Osborne and Kadija Sesay

The power of great fiction is that readers have the opportunity to discover new worlds and encounter other beliefs and opinions. But how do we find these books in the all-too-often white dominated ‘required reading’ collections that have become the accepted norm? How can powerful voices and cultural perspectives make it to the front of our bookshelves?

In This is the Canon: Decolonise Your Bookshelf in 50 Books Osborne and Sesay (along with Joan Anim-Addo, Professor Emerita of Caribbean Literature and Culture at Goldsmiths University) have chosen novels from literary giants such as Toni Morrison and Chinua Achebe to equally vital writers such as Caribbean novelist Earl Lovelace or Indigenous Australian author Alexis Wright, the novels recommended here are in turn haunting and lyrical; innovative and inspiring.

Osborne and Sesay discuss the books, the writers and how their list came to be with Madhu Krishnan.

Joan Anim-Addo, Deirdre Osborne and Kadija Sesay’s This is the Canon: Decolonise Your Bookshelf in 50 Books is published by Quercus. Buy a copy from our partners Waterstones online or at the event.

Dr Deirdre Osborne is Reader in English Literature and Drama at Goldsmiths University, London and the co-founder of the world-first Black British Literature MA. She is also associate editor of Women’s Writing.

Kadija Sesay MBE is a writer and editor, and the founder of SABLE LitMag and SABLE LitFest. Kadija’s poetry, stories and essays have been published in the UK, USA and Africa.

Madhu Krishnan is Professor of African, World and Comparative Literatures in the Department of English at the University of Bristol and Director of the Centre for Black Humanities. She is author of Contemporary African Literature in English: Global Locations, Postcolonial Identifications (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), Writing Spatiality in West Africa: Colonial Legacies in the Anglophone/Francophone Novel (Boydell & Brewer, 2018) and Contingent Canons: African Literature and the Politics of Location (Cambridge University Press, 2018). She is at present working on a large scale project on literary activism in contemporary Africa, which explores the ways in which engagement with the literary functions as a mode of social production. Follow her on Twitter @ProfMadhuK

Booking Information

Ticket booking is via Eventbrite. Please review Eventbrite’s terms and conditions and Privacy Policy as Bristol Ideas do not accept any responsibility or liability for the policies. You can read Bristol Ideas’ Privacy policy here.

Please note we only refund tickets if the event is cancelled. Events start punctually and, out of consideration to other audience members and speakers, our policy is not to admit or issue refunds to latecomers. Full Terms and Conditions here.

Waterstones and Bristol Ideas want to ensure a safe and enjoyable visit for all. The event capacity has returned to normal and seating will not be socially distanced. In the interest of audience and staff safety we are grateful if you would continue to wear a mask if possible and make space when moving around the venue. Please stay home if you’re experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 (these are listed on the NHS website) or if you’ve recently been in contact with someone who has the virus. 

Ticket booking is via Eventbrite. Please note that Eventbrite is a third-party service that is not owned or managed by Bristol Ideas. Please review Eventbrite’s terms and conditions and Privacy Policy as we do not accept any responsibility or liability for the policies. You can read Bristol Ideas’ Privacy policy here.

CONCESSIONS apply to Full Time Students, Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit claimants, over 60s and disabled people. PARTNER RATE is for staff, students or members at the following organisations: Arts Council England, Bristol City Council, Business West, University of Bristol and UWE. Please note that you will be asked of proof for your eligibility of a concession or partner rate ticket. No refunds/exchanges are possible for tickets already purchased at the higher price.

One free carer ticket can be provided for each paying disabled visitor, please contact us before booking to arrange.

We only refund tickets if the event is cancelled. Events start punctually and, out of consideration to other audience members and speakers, our policy is not to admit or issue refunds to latecomers. Full Terms and Conditions here.

Accessibility: Waterstones

One free carer ticket can be provided for each paying disabled visitor, please contact us before booking to arrange. More information about Waterstones Bristol – Galleries can be found on the Waterstones website and on AccessAble.

• There are Blue Badge parking spaces on Union Street.
• There is level access to the event space.
• Events are amplified but there is no loop system.
• There are toilets for public use.
• Guide and assistance dogs are welcome.