Castles from Cobwebs: J.A. Mensah in conversation with Sara Hunt

Event details

Book Launch

I'd always known that I was Brown. Black was different though; it came announced. Black came with expectations, of rhythm and other things that might trip me up.

The Department of English and Related Literature is delighted to host the launch of Castles from Cobwebs, the debut novel by York’s Juliana Mensah, publishing as J.A. Mensah. The novel has been described as 'real, powerful and unique', 'spellbinding', and a 'compelling exploration of memory, race, mothers and the fractured self.' Castles from Cobwebs won the inaugural NorthBound Book Award (2019), a collaboration between New Writing North and Saraband. The event will also celebrate the Award partnering with the University of York from 2021.

J. A. Mensah is a prose and theatre writer and a lecturer in English and Creative Writing at the University of York. Her plays have focused on human rights narratives and the testimonies of survivors. Her short stories appear in several collections. Castles from Cobwebs, her first novel, won the inaugural NorthBound Book Award. 

Sara Hunt is the founder (in 1994) and director of award-winning independent publisher Saraband, which focuses on nature, place and life writing, and literary fiction, often defying traditional genre categories. Saraband's authors have won or been shortlisted for an array of literary awards, many of them for debuts, written by authors hailing from all corners of the UK and elsewhere. 

This event is jointly hosted by Writers at York and the Modern Research School in the Department of English and Related Literature.

Buy the book from Fox Lane Books