Derek Owusu's debut novel was the first fiction to be published by Stormzy's fledgling imprint #Merky Books and went on to win the Desmond Elliot Prize in 2020. In this episode we hear from Derek about the mental health crisis that first encouraged him to put pen to paper, from his editor Tom Avery about changing the mainstream and from chair of judges Preti Taneja, herself a previous winner of the prize, about why this book is so special. Featuring: Derek Owusu, Tom Avery, Preti Taneja

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.