Books / Interviews
Acclaimed debut novel set in Easton
Moses McKenzie hopes that his debut novel, An Olive Grove in Ends, set in Easton around Stapleton Road, will propel him to become a world famous writer.
Named as one of the Observer’s ten best debut novelists of 2022, he is already writing the screenplay of the book, which has been optioned to become a television series before even being published.
An Olive Grove in Ends has been described as a “remarkable” and “daring” debut which sees his protagonist, Sayon Hughes, longing to escape the volatile Bristol neighbourhood known as Ends.
“I don’t feel attached to Bristol,” 24-year-old Moses says on the new episode of the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast.
“I think when people say Bristol, they think of things like white, liberal, cyclist, Green Party, marches type Bristol that I don’t feel comfortable with. I don’t feel part of that and I don’t want to be part of that.
“Whereas my Bristol is – or was – very black, very Caribbean, very Somali, and very much apart from the image of Bristol that a lot of people outside of Bristol and even inside of Bristol have.”
Listen to the full interview with Moses McKenzie on the latest episode of the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
An Olive Grove in Ends will be published under the Wildfire imprint of Headline on April 28.
Main photo: Little Brown
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