Interrupted: Books and Activism

Join Brighton Book Festival with special guests activists Mikaela Loach and Kelechi Okafor as they look at the role of activism in shaping what our society looks like.

Books & Activism: Activism is an age-old response to power, persisting throughout history. As the current generation voices its concerns through shouts and protests, we ponder the role literature plays in shaping activism. What insights can we glean from historical activism, and what might the future hold? Exploring the diverse facets of activism, both past and future narratives, these stories are reshaping the world around us. By delving into literature spanning the past, present, and future, we aim to understand the profound impact activism has had and will continue to have on us all.

Elle Machray (she/they) lives in Edinburgh and studied Politics at the University of Leeds.
Elle started in writing in lockdown and was selected to join the inaugural cohort of the HarperCollins Author Academy in 2021. Elle's debut novel, REMEMBER, REMEMBER was published by HarperNorth in February 2024 and is an alternative history which reimagines the gunpowder plot. The novel follows Delphine, an escaped enslaved woman as she takes on the British Empire to save her brother. In the moments between working and writing, Elle practices karate and explores the beauty of Scotland with her dog, Bruce.

Kelechi Okafor is a Nigerian-born London-based lover of words - whether that’s crafting them into works of fiction or articles; performing them on stage or television; directing how others convey them on stage; or expressing herself and her thoughts on society one podcast episode at a time – with esteemed interview guests too. Known online as Kelechnekoff, she’s also affectionately known as “just a Baby Girl” by her followers, listeners, and community. Kelechi is a highly intelligent broadcaster who invites audiences in and makes sure they understand the topic at hand, while also being sensitive to pacing of narratives and knowing when to lighten the mood or hold challenging topics in a productive and progressive way. Kelechi's “Edge of Here” is a collection of short stories staged in a speculative world rooted in constantly innovating technology to “improve” society. Kelechi uses her genetically and divinely inherited storytelling skill to query and show how Black women navigate a society like this on interpersonal, professional, spiritual, and communal levels.

Mikaela Loach is the best-selling author of It's Not That Radical: Climate Action To Transform Our World, a climate justice activist, co-host of The YIKES Podcast, writer and former medical student based in Brighton. In 2020, Forbes, Global Citizen and BBC Woman's Hour named Mikaela as one of the most influential women in the UK climate movement. In 2021, she was one of three claimants on the "Paid To Pollute" case who took the UK government to court over the huge public payments they give to fossil fuel companies every year. Her work focuses on the intersections of the climate crisis with oppressive systems and making the climate movement a more accessible space. "It's Not That Radical: Climate Action To Transform Our World" was published in April 2023 by Dorling Kingsley and is Mikaela's first book.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

University of Brighton City Campus, 58-67 Grand Parade, Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom