Melissa Cummings-Quarry and Natalie A. Carter are the co-founders of Black Girls' Book Club, a literature and social events platform that celebrates literature by Black female writers. One of the UK's top live literature events, Black Girls' Book Club have hosted Bernardine Evaristo, Roxane Gay, Malorie Blackman, Afua Hirsch, Tayari Jones and Angie Thomas. Melissa and Natalie were named as two of The Bookseller's Rising Stars of 2019. Their debut book Grown will be published by Bloomsbury in 2021.
Ships at a Distance
Zora Neale Hurston
Watch event again now
This event took place on 28 October 2020
Watch the video
Ships at a Distance
Zora Neale Hurston
Watch event again now
This event took place on 28 October 2020
‘There are years that ask questions and years that answer.’ – Zora Neale Hurston
Over a career that spanned more than 30 years, Zora Neale Hurston published four novels, two books of folklore, an autobiography, numerous short stories, and several essays, articles and plays. Today, her work unites readers across the world, yet she died penniless, buried in an unmarked grave.
Black Girl’s Book Club co-founders Natalie Carter and Melissa Cummings-Quarry – who cite Neale Hurston as the ‘the patron saint of Black women’ – chair a conversation with poets Jackie Kay and Salena Godden about Hurston’s writing life, and how she has become regarded one of the most significant Black woman writers of the 20th century.
Presented in association with the Royal Society of Literature. This event was part of Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women's Rights, a UK-wide exhibition by the British Library and public libraries.