BERNARDINE EVARISTO
61, author
Evaristo made history last October, when she became the first Black woman to be awarded the Booker Prize, for her eighth book Girl, Woman, Other. Barack Obama is a big fan, and so are we.
My mum was an English teacher who loved to read.
She passed that on to me. It was a lifeline to explore the world through literature.
Girl, Woman, Other took me five years.
If you don’t enjoy the writing process, you’ll suffer as a writer. I never just work on a novel. I teach creative writing, do book reviews and essays and talks as an activist.
Black British women were invisible in literature for a long time.
Especially in the UK. I was inspired by AfricanAmerican writers such as Toni Morrison. Being the first Black British writer to get the number one spot in the fiction charts says a lot. But the Black Lives Matter movement has put the industry under the spotlight to diversify the workforce and who gets published.
I’ve been an activist for a long time.
I want to live in a society where everybody is included, particularly Black people. I’m grateful to have a big platform. When I say something now, I’m quoted in the media. In the past, people often haven’t paid attention.
Winning the Booker Prize was the defining moment of my career.
I have such huge admiration for Margaret Atwood and was delighted to share it with her. It put my career into a different league.
I haven’t started the next book yet.
I always feel the pressure when starting. But you can’t control how your book is going to be received; all you can do is write it.