Speaking Volumes

Speaking Volumes is a live literature organisation specialising in getting underrepresented voices heard, reaching diverse audiences and finding exciting ways to present the work of writers.

Not Quite Right For Us

To mark our 10th birthday, Speaking Volumes is publishing an anthology of forty writers whose work challenges the mainstream responding to the theme ‘Not Quite Right For Us’ – find out more here.

Not Quite Right For Us ON FILM

To celebrate a year of Not Quite Right For Us, we are releasing two films highlighting some of the authors featured in the book, in conversation and reading their pieces. Watch them here.

Anthony Joseph: The Frequency of Magic

Over a number of in-person events, Anthony Joseph performs from his novel, The Frequency of Magic, with live improvised jazz, accompanied by some of the UK’s finest musicians.

Find out where you can see him here

Watch the writers who are part of the anthology give a taste of their work and the overall themes of the book.

New and Current Projects

  • Crop of the Breaking New Ground booklet cover

Find out what we are currently working on and what is coming up.

Epic Conversation: Bernardine Evaristo and Roger Robinson

For the final event of the A Portable Paradise Tour, TS Eliot Prize winner Roger Robinson was interviewed by Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo. This Epic Conversation took place at the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton, with a special invited audience of established and emerging writers, producers and supporters who have been part of Roger’s journey to his book and who he wanted to celebrate with. This is a short extract bt you can watch the full conversation here.

Past Projects

Linton Kwesi Johnson

About Us

Meet the Team

Our new special film, ‘Not Quite Right For Us – Exploring Non-Fiction’, includes an excerpt from the powerful, ‘This is England. But Not for Me’ by Nazneen Khan-Østrem. Nazneen speaks of her love affair with 1980s British youth culture but the loneliness she felt because ‘I never saw anyone who resembled me’. She describes the alienation suffered because of the 'dark streak’ of racism that often reared its ugly head in youth cultures, or hijacked them, but also the hope and joy in discovering artists like Poly Styrene and Haq Qureishi ‘who made me start to think that I was not totally alone’. Happy Friday! To complete our year of Speaking Volumes' celebrations for our anthology 'Not Quite Right for Us', we are showing two final films of readings and talks from the book. They are on our website until 6 June so catch them while you can! On the theme of Childhood and Teenage Years, our new special film, ‘Not Quite Right For Us – Exploring Non-Fiction’, includes an excerpt from the captivating ‘Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know’ by Byron Vincent. With passion and humour, Byron describes the pronounced exceptionalism, paranormal talents and psychic sensitivity that he developed as a young child that made him feel from another world and ‘too delicately tuned for this place.’ In our new ‘Not Quite Right For Us: In Conversation’ film, the eminent and excellent BBC journalist, Razia Iqbal, facilitates an unmissable discussion with three of our Not Quite Right For Us literary talents, Paul Burston, Colin Grant and Catherine Johnson. Our new ‘Not Quite Right For Us’ Non-Fiction film includes the incredible and multi-talented Xiaolu Guo! On the theme of Childhood, Xiaolu reads from her deeply moving and fascinating ‘Lei Feng and Other Adventures in Childhood.’ From her experience of living most of her life in rural China, then living in Britain, it seems self-evident to Xiaolu ‘that childhood is manufactured, both in the East and the West’. So Xiaolu looks to the possibility of ‘a childhood without the stamp of an imposed identity’. We are finishing our year of celebrations for our first anthology with two very special films — for two weeks only! From Monday, we will be finishing our year of celebrations for our first anthology with two very special films! We want to express our gratitude to Dominique Le Gendre for the wonderful music that she specially composed to accompany all our Not Quite Right For Us films, and previously, the Not Quite Right For Us digital tour. Thank you! TODAY IS YOUR LAST CHANCE to see our Not Quite Right For Us: Non-Fiction film, so watch it now before it is too late!

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