Two contemporary Black British authors come together at Leicester Central Library for a special Black History Month conversation exploring writing, Caribbean heritage, family, migration and the stories that shape Black British life.
Mel Pennant, author and award-winning playwright, joins Lisa Smith, author of Jamaica Road, for an afternoon of conversation hosted by broadcaster Merisha Stevenson.
Pennant is the author of A Murder for Miss Hortense, a crime novel centred on a formidable Jamaican-born retired nurse who emigrated to Britain during the Windrush era.
Through mystery, humour and community life, the novel places an older Caribbean woman at the centre of a genre in which characters from the Windrush generation have historically been under-represented.
Pennant was raised in London by a close-knit family that included her Jamaican grandparents, who came to Britain in the 1950s. Those experiences have helped shape her interest in stories about family, community and the lives that exist beneath the surface of everyday Britain.
She is joined by Lisa Smith, whose debut novel Jamaica Road explores Black British life, friendship, love, memory and the lasting influence of Caribbean heritage.
Born in South London to Caribbean parents, Smith won the Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize and was selected for the London Library Emerging Writers Programme before publishing her first novel.
Together, the writers will discuss how personal and family histories can inform fiction, the importance of representing Black British communities with complexity and the changing opportunities available to Black writers within contemporary publishing.
The conversation will be hosted by Merisha Stevenson, an experienced broadcaster known for discussions around business, culture and community.
For Black History Month audiences, this event provides an opportunity to hear directly from two Black British women writers whose work places Caribbean heritage and contemporary British experience at the heart of their storytelling.
In Conversation with Mel Pennant and Lisa Smith takes place at Leicester Central Library on Saturday 3rd October 2026 from 2:00pm to 4:30pm.
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