"So to the person that broke my heart in 2021 by way of a casual voice-note. Thank you."
Told from the perspective of some of the finest contemporary Black writers and thinkers, MANDEM is an ode to the moments in our pasts that shape us, and gratitude at being able to appreciate these lessons in the present.

In a beautiful blend of prose and lyricism, each essay sees its author tap into their most vulnerable place - engaging honestly in conversations often silently grappled with by Black British men because of socially enforced beliefs around Black masculinity.

The themes in this essay collection range from the importance of male role-models, and the unique relationship between mother and son to the sexual pressure placed on young heterosexual men, while also asking the question: "what does contemporary Black queerness actually look like?"

Edited by award-winning artist Iggy London and featuring essays from Yomi Sode, Jeffrey Boakye, Christian Adofo, Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Athian Akec, Dipo Faloyin, Okechukwu Nzelu, Phil Samba, Sope Soetan, and Jordan Stephens, MANDEM is an unmissable, thoughtful anthology of Black male expression.

A young woman living in London, Ekuah loves deeply and loves hard, yet with each romantic encounter she is left feeling increasingly unmoored and adrift. She struggles in her love for Dee Emeka, a gifted musician, who is both passionate and distant in the way he loves her back. Confirming her worst fears about the unstable foundation of their relationship, he suddenly disappears from her life. Heartbroken, she is left to pick up the pieces, while searching for new validations and preoccupations from others.

But when, against a backdrop of enigmatic, poetic, nights in London, Venice, Accra and Paris, she finds an unexpected new love in the form of Jay Stanley, Ekuah re-focuses on her journey to meaningful love. She is determined to feel deeply again, but can she handle the vulnerability and forgiveness that comes with falling in love?

A captivating, sexy romance that explores the limits of love at first sight...

Afro-Brazilian filmmaker Ren is recovering from a romantic betrayal. Kayla is a Black British artist and journalist keen to make her mark. Thrown together during a string of interviews in New York for Ren's latest film, they're struck by an irresistible attraction. The two surrender to one night of searing honesty and passion, which leaves them with more questions than answers about the future. With secrets lurking between them, letting their romance continue could upend the separate lives Ren and Kayla have so carefully built. But can they really risk losing their miraculous connection?

Honey Fontaine has spent much of her adult life dodging her mother's attempts to marry her off, and has had enough. Her mother, having changed her own life by marrying into comfort and means, is determined to find a similar suitable match for her daughter, much to Honey's distress. At her wits end, Honey decides to enlist the support of Ashley Elliot, a well-off club owner and determined flirt, who will pretend to be Honey's man. Ashley is not Honey's usual type, but she finds herself increasingly drawn to him and what a relationship with him could be like. When the latest of her mother's picks proves to be unexpectedly attractive to her, Honey finds herself suddenly forced to have to make a choice. Stability or passion, comfort or risk? What will Honey do?

16-year-old Fola Oduwole is scared. She's scared of disappointing her parents, she's scared of not being able to follow her dreams, but most of all she's scared for her brother. He has cancer and his surgery's coming up soon, it could leave him paralysed, or worse. Fola deserves a break, and she gets her wish when she takes the Victoria line one stop too far and is transported to Folkshore, a magical, hidden part of London.

Now she's scared of the talking animals, the mythical Shriekers and not being there when her brother wakes up. Fola wants to go back, but a thunderstorm destroys Folkshore station. As she looks for another way out, Fola stumbles on the local Assembly's nefarious plans. She realises that the only way back to her brother is to help her new friends as they resist the pugnacious police pigs and the authoritarian assembly.

If she fails, the community she's come to love could be destroyed forever and she may never find her way home.