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  • Writer's pictureHinton Magazine
    • Oct 18, 2022

Black-led Tottenham Literature Festival 2022 announces full programme

Bernie Grant Arts Centre, 14 November – 20 November 2022

Tottenham Literature Festival (TLF) has announced the full programme of events that will take place in their fourth annual festival that celebrates enriched, diverse stories by Black authors, poets, and artists from Tottenham and beyond. The theme of this year’s festival, which consists of both in-person and online events, is ‘healing stories’, exploring the healing power of words, and how writing ourselves into history transforms everything.


This year’s festival promises to be the most ambitious and accessible yet, with a significant free programme, the rest Pay What You Can as well as a line-up of events taking place online. TLF are delighted to showcase Tottenham’s first Big Read, where the festival will give away 1000 free books to children and adults in the community, as well as showcase a full day dedicated to events for children, headlined by poet, broadcaster and winner of the 2019 Pen Pinter Prize, Lemn Sissay OBE FRSL.

Travis Alabanza, Artist-in-Residence of this year’s festival, said: “I’m so excited to be a resident artist at the festival, releasing my book this year has re-confirmed how important I think it is for everyone to have access to different kinds of literature, and a chance to be encouraged to create their own, and I love any events that encourage that!” Events in this year’s festival include:

  • More Fiya: Black British poets, including Anthony Joseph (Paul Hamlyn Composers Award 2020 & Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship 2019), Bridget Minamore, Dean Atta, Dzifa Benson and others

  • Olivia Wenzel in conversation about the influences of feminism and German-Afro experiences in award-winning novel 1000 Coils of Fear

  • Paterson Joseph performing an extract from Sancho: An Act of Remembrance followed by an evening talk and reading from his latest book The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho.

  • Travis Alabanza presenting the keynote lecture as well as an intimate masterclass for Black LGBTQI+ identifying audience members

  • Lisa Allen-Agostini and Yvonne Bailey-Smith discuss their writing careers and Caribbean influences in their work on YouTube

  • Workshops including Speed-pitch Your Book for adults and Zine-making Time for children

  • Panel discussions including Black Love and Reclaiming Our Stories


Building on previous years’ successes, Tottenham Literature Festival has evening talks throughout the week, a digital programme, a School’s Programme running from October until the Festival week, a family day programme and a jam-packed Saturday programme. Audiences can access the Saturday programme with an affordable Day Pass, and there’s also plenty of free events including a books and arts market and author interviews in the Mezzanine.


Talks in the BGAC Theatre will be BSL interpreted. There will be a roaming BSL interpreter throughout the day in BGAC, if you need this service please select this when booking tickets.

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