Books / Fiction
New Good Immigrant Project Launched
Nikesh Shukla, Bristol-based writer and the editor of the last year’s hugely successful and influential book of essays by writers of colour The Good Immigrant (Unbound £8.99), has launched a Kickstarter appeal to fund a new journal.
The Good Immigrant has sold more than 50,000 copies and has been the subject of numerous events, discussions and performances around the UK since it came out a year ago. This success has prompted Shukla to join forces with literary agent, Julia Kingsford, to start the new initiative.
The Good Journal will come out quarterly and will feature essays, poetry, short stories and more with the aim of “showcasing the very best work by writers and illustrators of colour.”
is needed now More than ever
Shukla, who is also editor of Rife Magazine based at Watershed, says: “Loads of people asked for a second The Good Immigrant. And so instead of doing another volume, we decided to do a literary journal, quarterly, of writings from writers of colour from Britain. And we’ve expanded it so that it’s more than nonfiction essays about race and immigration. This time we’re looking for essays, short stories, poems, extracts from novels.
“Each issue will be a mixture of established writers and unknowns (once fully funded we will do an open call for submissions). Some of the established writers signed up for the four issues are Kamila Shamsie, Sanjeev Bhasker, Emma-Lee Moss (Emmy The Great), Susan Wokoma, Niven Govinden, Danielle Dash, Bridget Minamore, Bolu Babalola and Sunny Singh.
“What we’ll have is something that presents and showcases the British BAME talent we know is out there, from established to new and to build on the readership for The Good Immigrant and put out work that resonates with so many different audiences, but specifically young people of colour who felt represented by The Good Immigrant.”
There are also plans for a further project as the Kickstarter campain explains: “Once costs of the journal have been covered, any funds raised will go towards setting up The Good Literary Agency, a social enterprise literary agency focused exclusively on representing the under-represented from all backgrounds: BAME, disabled, working-class and LGBTQ+.”
To back the Kickstarter appeal please visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/thegoodjournal/the-good-journal-a-quarterly-literary-magazine?ref=user_menu
Read more: Interview with Nikesh Shukla
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
