Beyond the Secret Garden - Black People in British Children's Books

Kandace Chimbiri is an author, speaker and educator. She primarily writes Black history books for children and young readers; she has also written for film, published articles and contributed to a Black British history anthology. She is the author of The Story of the Windrush, The Story of Afro Hair, The Story of Britain's Black Nurses, and The Story of Britain's Black Airmen.

Dr Darren Chetty is a writer and a lecturer at UCL, and former primary school teacher. He contributed to the bestselling book, The Good Immigrant, edited by Nikesh Shukla. Darren co-authored, with Karen Sands O’Connor, Beyond the Secret Garden? Racially Minoritised People in British Children’s Books (English Media Centre) based on their regular column for Books for Keeps. In May 2025 Darren's debut picture book, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat, I'm going to Make a Friend, will be published.

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