Welcome to Readers of Colour!
Readers of Colour is a thriving community of Women* and Non-binary Readers of Colour who come together to read writing by Women and Non-binary Writers of Colour!
We share our laughter and ideas over discussions about things like that month’s reading and community care.
We meet every other month in Edinburgh, Glasgow and online. Here are the all important dates and times:
Online
Last Thursday of the month, 6pm – 7.15pm
2023: 27th September, 30th November
2024: 25th January, 28th March, 30th May, 25th July, 26th September, 28th November
Glasgow
Last Saturday of the month, 2pm – 3.30pm at Glasgow Women’s Library
2023: 30th September, 25th November (update: this session will take place 11am-12.30pm)
2024: 27th January, 30th March, 25th May, 27th July, 28th September, 30th November
Edinburgh
Last Wednesday of the month, 18:45 – 8pm at Lighthouse Books
2023: 29th November
2024: 31st January, 27th March, 29th May, 31st July, 25th September, 27th November
Rather than reading whole books together, to keep commitment and cost down, we tend to read/watch/listen to a small focused piece or selection of pieces each month.
While what we are reading might be at the heart of the conversation, often we use it as a jumping off point to discuss our wider thoughts and ideas about the theme. For example, for one session, our ‘jumping off’ point was folklore by Zora Neale Hurston, and where we jumped to was sharing our favourite fairy tales from our lives. Or, for another session, we read a chapter from Jasleen Kaur’s Be Like Teflon about recipes and food, and our conversation shared our favourite food and recipes in our lives.
Recent reads have been:
September 2023 | Excerpt from ‘Nevermind’, a short story in The Memory Library and Other Stories of Dirty Computer and emotion picture Dirty Computer, both by Janelle Monáe
August 2023 | Memoir None of the Above: Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary by Travis Alabanza
July 2023 | Excerpts available on Granta Digital from People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawasama and Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
June 2023 | Novel Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden
May 2023 | Essay ‘It’s Like Candy: The bittersweet salve of social dancing’ by Vanessa Kisuule from the anthology Black Joy edited by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff and Timi Sotire. Zine, Issue 02 – Scott(ish), from No Permission Needed.
April 2023 | Excerpt from Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey. Poems from an/other pastoral by Tjawangwa Dema (who joined us for the online session). Interactive film Before We Disappear by Asmaa Jama.
If you’re interested in joining the group but you’re not sure what to expect – just come along to a session and listen in, there’s no need to talk or take part in the discussion unless you’d like to!
Read more about what we are up to on our blog page here, including book recommendations by group members.
Want to Come Along?
Attendance is free, and the group is a warm space to share ideas, passion for literature, and laughter! To find out more or book, email Lil at lil.green@womenslibrary.org.uk.
*All women-only events are inclusive of Trans and Intersex women, as well as non-binary and gender fluid people who are comfortable in a space that centres the experience of women.