WritersMosaic are delighted to return to Bradford Literature Festival, July 3 – 12 2026, to host another series of literary events, celebrating and showcasing writers of the global majority.
Across the 10-day festival, WritersMosaic will host two new events bringing together underrepresented voices in the literary landscape for timely conversations, featuring live music.
John Siddique, project coordinator in the North of England for WritersMosaic, and acclaimed poet and writer, is championing literary organisations and global majority writers in the North, with a particular emphasis on showcasing the voices of British writers from the global majority up and down the country.
What We Leave, We Carry: Saturday 4 July
Are you a migrant? Would you associate with a migrant? For some ‘migration’ is a dirty and fearful word, but What We Leave We Carry, a new oral history of migration to Britain, argues that migrants count among the bravest and most inspiring people in the world. What do we leave behind when we move to a new place – and what do we carry with us, physically and emotionally, wherever we land? WritersMosaic director, Colin Grant, and writers from WritersMosaic have travelled throughout Britain, listening to stories of migration – foundational tales of arriving in a new land, along with rarely spoken tales of love and loss. For this event, Dawn Cameron hosts storytellers from this groundbreaking oral history – Anni Domingo, Isabelle Dupuy and Abha Sharma – sharing the secrets of their migrant songs and objects from Sierra Leone, Haiti and India.
The Mosaic Monologues: Sunday 5 July
Mosaic Monologues sees writers perform their own work: the storyteller is the character, creating a raw, intimate connection between voice and story, with no separation between text and performance. WritersMosaic’s first Mosaic Monologues series brings character-led storytelling into the global majority literary space. Six award-winning, global majority writers have each created, curated, and performed a twelve-minute monologue, stepping fully into character to bring their stories to life. The acclaimed writers were invited to create fictional figures who speak directly of their dreams, fears, longings and hopes. For this event, series producer John Siddique will be joined by award-winning playwright Ishy Din, who directed the series, and poet Tahmina Ali, who will share her monologue Shifting Shadows, which tells the story of Anika, a woman caught between motherhood, marriage and the weight of expectation. She has always placed herself last, yet something essential within her is asking her to return to life.
Both events feature live music from Rory A. Green, a Ghanaian-English guitarist, composer, and producer.