Negro with a Hat, my biography of Marcus Garvey was written to resurrect a man who is very important to British history and culture, and yet one who has been overlooked in schools and mainstream bookshops. Born in Jamaica, Marcus Garvey was a citizen of the British Empire; though he was to advocate a “Back-to-Africa” movement, his allegiance was primarily to the British Crown – a point that perhaps reflects the contradictions of this complex character.  As the Chigao Defender wrote in an obituary of Garvey: ‘Endowed with a dynamic personality and with unmatched oratorical gift, had Garvey succeeded in his undertakings, he would have been incontestably the greatest figure in the twentieth century. Having failed, he is considered a fool.’

The life and work of Marcus Garvey crosses numerous intersections in history: the making of the Panama Canal; Black Edwardian Britain; the influence on Sinn Fein on Garvey’s thinking; WW1 and the Red Scare; racial conflagration in the USA and Europe, the Harlem Renaissance, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. These are all subjects that I can speak about.

I believe it important to reinforce the point that we have a shared history in this country with many races, and that story-telling and history suffers sometimes from being too compartmentalised.

Negro with a Hat is my first book. I have brought to the writing, I hope, a story-teller’s flair, and a precision and clarity which have evolved from my time working in the BBC. As a radio producer, I am wedded to the idea of informing, educating and entertaining, and I bring those principles to the performances and interactive presentations that I give.

I have also written numerous stage plays, and short stories, and these disciplines have informed my biographical and history writing. I am keen to explore with children inter-disciplinary, cross-over approaches to writing and story-telling.  My presentations also involve the use of images and music.

I would be aiming at children from key stage 3 & 4, and I have worked with a range of groups from different sizes - from a class of thirty to the whole year of two hundred pupils. I am also willing to work with whole school assemblies.

Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey was published by Jonathan Cape and OUP, USA in 2008.

I&I: The Natural Mystics (a group biography of the Original Wailers , Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and Bunny Livingston) will be published by Jonathan Cape and Penguin Press, USA in 2010