Product Description

In March 1807, the British Parliament passed an Act making the trading and transportation of slaves illegal. It was many years before slavery, as it was known then, was abolished, and slavery still continues today in different ways, but it was a big step forward towards the empancipation of a people. Malorie Blackman has drawn together some of the finest of today's writers and poets to contribute to this important anthology. Their short stories and poems sit alongside first-hand accounts of slavery from freed slaves, making a fascinating and absorbing collection that remembers and commemorates one of the most brutal and long-lasting inflictions of misery that human beings have inflicted upon other human beings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #123506 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From the Back Cover
Slavery – an inhuman trade in human misery and suffering . . .

Award-winning author
MALORIE BLACKMAN
has drawn together a riveting collection of stories, poems and first-hand recollections on the theme of slavery.

JohnAgard
Olaudah Equiano
Alex Haley
and
Benjamin Zephaniah

are among those whose work appears alongside an original story and foreword from Malorie herself.

Honour the past – and look toward a future in which all peoples of the world may live together in freedom.

Front cover photograph Robert Walker / Photonica / Getty Images
Back cover photograph William Huber / Stone / Getty Images

About the Author
Malorie Blackman worked as a database manager and systems programmer before becoming a full-time writer. Her reputation has steadily grown and she has been awarded a number of prizes including the WHSmith's Mind-Boggling Books Award and the Young Telegraph/Gimme 5 award for HACKER, the Young Telegraph/Fully Booked award for THIEF! and, more recently, shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for PIG-HEART BOY. She was voted Voice/Excel Children's Writer of the Year in 1997. Her novel NOUGHTS AND CROSSES has won both the Children's Book Award and the Lancashire Children's Book Award 2002. Checkmate was shortlisted for the Lancashire hildren's Book of the Year Award 2006. THE TIMES recently described her as 'a bit of a national treasure.' She was also shortlisted for the Carnegie medal for PIG-HEART BOY and for CHECKMATE in 2006.

Customer Reviews

a good starter to further reading
Although aimed at teenagers, this is a great addition to anyone interested in black historical and fictional literature. This is a collection of stories and poems to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain, edited by Malorie Blackman,she has alson penned a powerful and moving story called North. I had a great introduction to this book, when I attended a local library launch with readings by one of the contributors Sandra Agard. It does include many Afro American stories, and I would of liked more from black british writers, but it soon becomes clear that our histories and experiences are closily linked, and any opportunity to introduce Langston Hughes poetry to teenagers and beyond shouldn't be missed.