Shelf Interest: Speed Swap Book Date

Shelf Interest book club offers the opportunity to connect with others through a love for reading stories from authors within the African Diaspora.

This February we're celebrating the real lovers! We'll be reading Who's Loving You edited by Sareeta Domingo. We'll be joined by her and some of the other contributing authors: Varaidzo, Kuchenga Shenjé and Sara Jafari. A panel discussion will be held to explore the authors' thoughts!

We'll also have a book swap with a twist: we'll be speed-dating to get to know what books we fancy!

About Sareeta Domingo

Sareeta Domingo is the author of The Three of Us, (originally published as The Nearness of You), and creator, editor and contributing writer of romantic fiction anthology Who's Loving You. Her novel If I Don't Have You was shortlisted for the Diverse Book Awards 2021. She has also written numerous erotic short stories and an erotic novella with Pavilion Books, and her books for Young Adults are published under S.A. Domingo, including Love on the Main Stage, shortlisted for the Lancashire Book of the Year 2021. She has contributed to publications including, iNews, gal-dem, Black Ballad, Stylist and Token Magazine, has appeared on BBC Woman's Hour and Sky Arts Book Club, and has taken part in events for Primadonna Festival, Black Girls Book Club and the Royal Society of Literature among others. She lives in South East London.

About Varaidzo

Varaidzo is a writer, editor, and artist. Her short story ‘Bus Stop’ was shortlisted for the Guardian 4thWrite Prize 2018. She is a contributor to the best-selling anthology The Good Immigrant and the romance anthology Who’s Loving You. She was previously the Digital Editor at Wasafiri, and the Arts & Culture Editor at gal-dem. Her debut novel Manny And The Baby publishes in April 2024.

About Kuchenga Shenjé

Kuchenga Shenjé is a writer, journalist and speaker with work on many media platforms including Stylist, British Vogue and Netflix.

She has contributed short stories and essays to several anthologies, most notably It's Not OK to Feel Blue (And OtherLies), Who's Loving You and Loud Black Girls.

Owing to a lifelong obsession with books and the written word, Kuchenga studied Creative Writing at The Open University.

Her work is focused on the perils of loving, being loved and women living out loud throughout the ages.

Her first novel The Library Thief is the ultimate marriage of her passions for history, mystery and rebels.

She currently resides in Manchester where she is determined to continue living a life worth writing about.

About Sara Jafari

Sara Jafari is the author of The Mismatch and People Change (Penguin Random House). She is also a contributor to the anthologies Who’s Loving You (Trapeze) and I Will Not Be Erased (Walker Books). She has worked in publishing for over nine years, most recently working as an Editor at Penguin Random House, where she commissioned and edited fiction and non-fiction. She currently works as a freelance book editor for major publishers and is pursuing a masters at Goldsmiths, UoL.

What to expect at our event

• Bring a book to swap with others (any kind of book). This is a friendly space, you are not expected to make a romantic connection!
• Discuss romance with some of the contributing authors of Who's Loving You
• Meet new people and fellow book-lovers
• Have some appetisers that we'll set out for everyone (they're limited so come early)
• You are welcome to purchase additional meals/drinks from the bar & restaurant
• Get some additional recommended books by our bookseller

Join our book club

Gold book club members get their tickets FREE

Silver book club members get their tickets at a 50% discounted rate