Join writer, editor, poet and the acclaimed winner of the inaugural Bernadine Evaristo Scholarship Rachel Faturoti in conversation with Yassmin Abdel-Mageid, to celebrate the publication of her new book Finding Folkshore.

The event will initially be broadcast on 26 April at 6.30pm UK time. It will be available to view up to two weeks after the event has ended and can be accessed Worldwide. If you live in a time zone that does not suit the initial broadcast time you can watch it at any point after the initial showing for two weeks.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

16-year-old Fola Oduwole is scared. She’s scared of disappointing her parents, she’s scared of not being able to follow her dreams, but most of all she’s scared for her brother. He has cancer and his surgery’s coming up soon, it could leave him paralysed, or worse. Fola deserves a break, and she gets her wish when she takes the Victoria line one stop too far and is transported to Folkshore, a magical, hidden part of London.

Now she’s scared of the talking animals, the mythical Shriekers and not being there when her brother wakes up. Fola wants to go back, but a thunderstorm destroys Folkshore station. As she looks for another way out, Fola stumbles on the local Assembly’s nefarious plans. She realises that the only way back to her brother is to help her new friends as they resist the pugnacious police pigs and the authoritarian assembly. If she fails, the community she’s come to love could be destroyed forever and she may never find her way home.

In conversation for this extra special virtual event, Rachel will delve into the folklore aspects that bring this book to life. She will consider the importance of the literal and fictional landscapes of London and the role of folklore within this incredible book. Be sure to tune in!

The quality of her work demonstrates that she has enormous potential. Bernadine Evaristo