Haus der Universität
Moderation: Dr. Bettina Burger and Dr. Hannah Pardey (HHU)
On 5 May 2025, Dean Atta will discuss the (in)visibility of Black LGBTQ+ authors in the contemporary publishing and translation industries. Moderated by Dr. Bettina Burger and Dr. Hannah Pardey, this event will feature a conversation about Atta's writing process, readings from his verse novel The Black Flamingo (2019), a discussion of its German translation and a Q&A with the audience. The event will be conducted in English.
Bio Note
Dean Atta is an award-winning Black British writer from London known for his heartfelt storytelling rooted in his Greek Cypriot and Jamaican heritage. He writes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for all ages.
For adult readers, his poetry collection, I Am Nobody's Nigger, was shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize, and his memoir, Person Unlimited: An Ode to My Black Queer Body, received praise from Michael Rosen as "wonderfully original".
His young adult verse novels are The Black Flamingo, Only on the Weekends, and I Can't Even Think Straight.
The Black Flamingo won the Stonewall Book Award and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and Jhalak Prize. Malorie Blackman praised the book, saying, "I loved every word."
Dean has also contributed to middle-grade anthologies like Happy Here: 10 stories from Black British authors & illustrators and the Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood.
His picture book, Confetti, illustrated by Alea Marley, is a colourful celebration of love and life.
Additionally, Dean is a screenwriter and executive producer of the animated short film "Two Black Boys in Paradise", which was selected for the BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival and numerous others worldwide.