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Bernardine Evaristo

(b.1959)

Bernardine Evaristo was born in London to an English mother and Nigerian father. The fourth of eight siblings, she was raised in Woolwich, South London, and originally trained as an actress and worked in theatre.

Genres: Literary Fiction

Novels

   Lara (1997)
   The Emperor's Babe (2001)
   Soul Tourists (2005)
   Blonde Roots (2008)
   Mr Loverman (2013)
   Girl, Woman, Other (2019)

Collections

Island of Abraham (poems) (1994)
How Much the Heart Can Hold (2016) (with others)

Anthologies edited

NW15 (2007) (with Maggie Gee)
Ten (2010) (with Daljit Nagra)

Series contributed to

Quick Reads 2010
Hello Mum (2010)

Non fiction show

Bernardine Evaristo recommends

Top Doll (2024)
Karen McCarthy Woolf
"Extraordinarily inventive, witty, moving and profound."

The List (2023)
Yomi Adegoke
"Topical, heartfelt, provocative and wise, Yomi Adegoke's characters are tenderly realized, and she has an exceptional ear for capturing different vernaculars so that the entire cast of this ultimate millennial novel springs vividly to life."

The Three Graces (2023)
Amanda Craig
"She's such a skilful storyteller who vividly dramatises our lives with wit, wisdom and compassion."

The Nigerwife (2023)
Vanessa Walters
"A thrillingly suspenseful novel that reveals its riches, layers and secrets through effortlessly elegant prose, while exposing the imprisoning dynamics inside transactional relationships of patriarchal power. I was hooked right through to the shocking end."

Rosewater (2023)
Liv Little
"A wonderfully fresh, zesty and sexy debut novelist who is putting black queer lives, loves and longings centre stage, where they belong."

A House for Alice (2023)
Diana Evans
"A gorgeous novel from one of our most outstanding writers to be savoured for its beautiful language and profound insights into families, relationships and life in contemporary Britain."

Fire Rush (2023)
Jacqueline Crooks
"I was blown away by Fire Rush - an exceptional and stunningly original novel by a major new writer... her mesmerising, imaginative and incantatory writing leaves us swaying to the bass of the visceral rhythms she so powerfully describes. By the end of the novel, I felt charged and changed and already longed to re-read it."

Hungry Ghosts (2023)
Kevin Jared Hosein
"An astonishing novel - linguistically gorgeous, narratively propulsive and psychologically profound."

The Circle Breakers (2023)
(Leap Cycle, book 3)
Patience Agbabi
"Fascinating, original and smart...It has a magic all of its own."

Say Her Name (2022)
Ryan Carter and Dreda Say Mitchell
"Dreda Say Mitchell has been flying the flag for crime writing for years."

Young Mungo (2022)
Douglas Stuart
"Few novels are as gutsy and gut-wrenching as Young Mungo in its depiction of a teenage boy who finds love amid family dysfunction, community conflict and the truly terrible predations of adults. Vividly realised and emotionally intense, this scorching novel is an urgent addition to the new canon of unsung stories."

Assembly (2021)
Natasha Brown
"Natasha Brown’s exquisite prose, daring structure and understated elegance are utterly captivating. She is a stunning new writer."

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House (2021)
Cherie Jones
"A hard-hitting and unflinching novel from a bold new writer who tackles head-on the brutal extremes of patriarchal abuse."

The Vanishing Half (2020)
Brit Bennett
"The Vanishing Half is an utterly mesmerising novel. It seduces with its literary flair, surprises with its breath-taking plot twists, delights with its psychological insights, and challenges us to consider the corrupting consequences of racism on different communities and individual lives. I absolutely loved this book."

Rainbow Milk (2020)
Paul Mendez
"When did you last read a novel about a young, black, gay, Jehovah Witness man from Wolverhampton who flees his community to make his way in London as a prostitute? This might be a debut, but Mendez is an exciting, accomplished and daring storyteller with a great ear for dialogue. Graphic Erotica Alert! Don't read this book if you like your fiction cosy and middle-of-the-road."

The Mermaid of Black Conch (2020)
Monique Roffey
"A unique talent."

Black Rain Falling (2019)
(Digger Digson)
Jacob Ross
"Jacob Ross is a truly amazing writer. Black Rain Falling is an outstanding novel, it gripped me from the first page to the last."

Queenie (2019)
Candice Carty-Williams
"Candice Carty-Williams is a fantastic new writer who has written a deliciously funny, characterful, topical, and thrilling novel for our times."

Bernard and the Cloth Monkey (1998)
Judith Bryan
"A quietly outstanding work of fiction . . . an exemplary novel."

More recommendations

Books containing stories by Bernardine Evaristo

IC3 (2021)
The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain
edited by
Courttia Newland and Kadija Sesay

One For The Trouble (2011)
Book Slam 1
edited by
Patrick Neate

Awards

	Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction Best Book nominee (2009) : Blonde Roots
	Booker Prize Best Novel nominee (2019) : Girl, Woman, Other
	Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction Best Book nominee (2020) : Girl, Woman, Other
	Women's Prize For Fiction Best Novel nominee (2020) : Girl, Woman, Other

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