Book Launch: Big Man by Dean Atta
About this Event
Hackney Libraries are proud to host the official book launch of Big Man, the highly anticipated adult literary debut by award-winning author and poet Dean Atta.
Dean will read extracts from Big Man, discuss his inspiration and the themes of the book, and participate in an audience Q&A session.
Books will be available for purchase on the night thanks to Pages of Hackney, and Dean will be signing copies following the main discussion.
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About Big Man
Big Man follows the life of Big, a middle-aged Black British gay man who lives a gentle life with his boyfriend, Little, in their home in East London. Big and Little enjoy evenings out and group holidays with friends, as much as practising yoga together at home, and running side by side along the Hackney canals.
Big came of age in the club scene under the watchful eye of Mother, an African American trans woman who made a home and name for herself in London, her house a refuge for wayward queer youths like Big. When he finds out Mother is releasing a memoir, the two reconnect after decades of distance, and Big finds himself having to confront a long-repressed assault that opens old - and new - wounds.
A tender, daring novel full of gentle humour, Big Man explores themes of identity, aging, sex, family and trauma, turning a lens on what it means to age as a queer person, while being a double-edged love letter to the people and places that make us.
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About Dean Atta
Dean Atta is a BAFTA award-winning screenwriter and Stonewall Book Award-winning author from London. Best known for his young adult novel in verse, The Black Flamingo, and the stop-motion animation, Two Black Boys in Paradise, his heartfelt storytelling draws on his Greek Cypriot and Jamaican heritage as well as his queer identity.
Dean is a patron of LGBT+ History Month and Chair of the Poetry and Spoken Word Group of the Society of Authors.
Dean has published three young adult novels in verse, two poetry collections, two picture books, and a memoir. His debut adult novel, Big Man, will be published by Cipher Press in September 2026.
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Event Schedule
7pm: Arrivals and refreshments
7.30pm: Welcome speeches & readings
7.45pm: Q&A
8.10pm: Book signing
8.30pm: Event ends
Where is it happening?
GBP 0.00
