IGIABA SCEGO

Somali Italian writer, cultural activist and academic, born in Rome to Somali parents who took refuge in Italy following a coup d’état in their native country, where her father was foreign minister. Igiaba holds a PhD in education on postcolonialism and has a special interest in migration. She has 3 books in English translation: Adua (2017), Beyond Babylon (2019), and The Colour Line (2020), winner of the Premio Napoli. She was longlisted for the 2023 Premio Strega, Italy’s Booker equivalent and her memoir, My Home is Where I Am, won the prestigious Mondello Prize.

FEATURED BOOK: The Colour Line. Tr. John Cullen and Gregory Conti, Small Axes, an imprint of HopeRoad, 2023. Historical novel inspired by the real lives of two free Black women, both trailblazing artists who lived and met in Rome: Edmonia Lewis and Sarah Parker Remond.

Image credits @SimonaFilippini