Gabriel Gbadamosi (born 1961)Killam, G. Douglas, and Alicia L. Kerfoot
''Student Encyclopedia of African Literature''
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2008, p. 14. is a British poet, playwright and novelist of Irish-Nigerian descent. He is founding editor of the online literary platform WritersMosaic, an initiative of

The Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its long ...

Biography

Gbadamosi was born in London, where he grew up in

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

. He studied English at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, earning a BA (Hons) degree. He held an AHRC Creative and Performing Arts Fellowship at

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

2006–2009, based in the Department of Theatre and Performance and researching with the Pinter Centre for Performance and Creative Writing. He has also lectured in dramaturgy at the

University of Istanbul , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

, has been Judith E. Wilson Fellow at the Faculty of English of Cambridge University, director of the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...

, and a presenter of

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

's arts programme ''

Night Waves ''Free Thinking'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of their "After Dark" late night programming. The programme is a rebranded version of ''Night Waves'', "Radio 3's flagship arts and ideas programme". ''Night Waves'' was b ...

''.

Writing

Gbadamosi's poems have featured in such anthologies as ''The New Poetry 1968–1988'' (1988) and ''The Heinemann Book of African Poetry in English'' (1990), and his plays include ''No Blacks, No Irish'', ''Eshu's Faust'' (

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

), ''Shango'' (DNA, Amsterdam), ''Hotel Orpheu'' (

Schaubühne The Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz (Theatre on Lehniner Square) is a famous theatre in the Wilmersdorf district of Berlin, located on the Kurfürstendamm boulevard. It is a conversion of the ''Universum'' cinema, built according to plans designe ...

, Berlin), ''Friday's Daughter'' (for television), as well as the

drama about the

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966

entitled ''The Long, Hot Summer of '76'', which won the first Richard Imison Memorial Award. His most recent play ''Stop and Search'' was staged at the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is an Off West End theatre in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalst ...

in 2019, directed by

Mehmet Ergen Mehmet Ergen is a Turkish theatre director, producer and entrepreneur, currently based in London Borough of Hackney. Biography After completing a nine-month acting course in Turkey, Mehmet decided to become a director. He put an ad in ''The Sta ...

. His first published novel, ''Vauxhall'' (2013, Telegram Books, ), described by ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

''s reviewer as "a book of rare poetic insight and humour that absorbs from start to finish", won the Tibor Jones Pageturner Prize and Best International Novel at the Sharjah Book Fair.

Other activities

In August 2013, Gbadamosi appeared on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Great Lives ''Great Lives'' is a BBC Radio 4 biography series, produced in Bristol. It has been presented by Joan Bakewell, Humphrey Carpenter, Francine Stock and currently (since April 2006) Matthew Parris. A distinguished guest is asked to nominate the pe ...

'', nominating Nigerian musician

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...

. Gbadamosi has been a judge for literary prizes including the

EBRD Literature Prize The EBRD Literature Prize is a literary prize established in 2017 by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. As per the bank, the prize celebrates the "literary richness" of its operational regions, which spans some 40 countries across ...

, and has been director of ''

Wasafiri ''Wasafiri'' is a quarterly British literary magazine covering international contemporary writing. Founded in 1984, the magazine derives its name from a Swahili word meaning "travellers" that is etymologically linked with the Arabic word "safari" ...

'' magazine and a trustee of the

. Gbadamosi is founding editor of Writers Mosaic, an initiative of the

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its long ...

that is an online platform to showcase original writing from both new and established writers.

Selected bibliography

* ''Vauxhall'', Telegram Books, 2013, . French translation by Elizabeth Gilles, Editions Zoé, 2015, * ''Stop and Search'', Oberon Books/Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019,

References

External links

Official website
*

Kaite O'Reilly Kaite O'Reilly FRSL is UK-based playwright, author and dramaturge of Irish descent. She has won multiple awards for her work, including the Ted Hughes Award (2011) for her version of Aeschylus's tragedy ''The Persians.'' O'Reilly's plays have bee ...

"20 Questions… Gabriel Gbadamosi"
8 May 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gbadamosi, Gabriel 1961 births 21st-century British novelists Living people Alumni of the University of Cambridge Black British writers British poets British dramatists and playwrights English people of Nigerian descent English people of Irish descent