The Lit Collective (TLC) is a book club in Sheffield created for young womxn of colour (14-18) to read books by womxn of colour. This July they organised their first online festival dedicated to centring and celebrating womxn writers of colour, including writers who are marginalised along the gender spectrum.

The programme featured discussion groups and workshops exploring members’ and guests’ favourite texts, lived experiences, and themes such as joy, home, imagination, futurity, family, sisterhood and love.

In TLC’s words: “It is vital that we read literature which centres womxn of colour and reflects our rich and complex identities, experiences, cultures and histories. It enables us to better understand who we are, how we came to be and where we might go next. It enables us to reflect on society, examine its problems and imagine a better future. Just as importantly, it allows us to escape – together – into exciting new worlds and encourages us to create them for ourselves.”

Read more about TLC's motivations and ambitions in their mission statement and start working through their suggested reading lists.

See below to watch back the non-ticketed events from The Lit Collective Online Festival 2020, which went out live online on 23–25 July.