Afua Hirsch - Writer, broadcaster and best-selling author

Meet Afua

Afua Hirsch is a British writer, broadcaster, and best-selling author who explores race, identity, and injustice through impactful writing and documentaries. Today, she continues to share powerful narratives and advocate for human rights.

Writers’ Retreat in Bali

15–25 October 2026

Write alongside Afua Hirsch, Yomi Ṣode and Mallence Bart-Williams at a serene eco lodge at the foot of Mount Batukaru.

Decolonising My Body

A Radical Exploration of Rituals & Beauty

From The Sundays Times bestselling author of Brit(ish)

Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging

Where are you really from?

You’re British. Your parents are British. You were raised in Britain. Your partner, your children and most of your friends are British. So why do people keep asking you where you are from?

News & Features

Screenshot 2024-11-13 at 13.19.43

Rihanna for British Vogue

Podcast 'Legacy' at top of the charts

Podcast ‘Legacy’ at top of the charts

_114771980_jackson_bbc

Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson

Content - Flowers short film, acting debut 2022 cropped

Award-winning Short Film “Flowers”

The Pandemic Year

Jameela

Jameela Jamil in conversation with Afua Hirsch

African-Renaissance-Senegal

African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power

Gurls Talk with Adwoa Aboah

Take Your Knee Off My Neck

As featured in

Time

Vogue

The New York Times

Brit(ish): Afua Hirsch on race and identify in Britain today

Upcoming Events

04

Nov

2026

Benjamin Zephaniah Community Lecture 2026

Afua is the guest of the 2026 Benjamin Zephaniah Community Lecture, an annual series organised by the University of Birmingham’s Race Equality Network to celebrate the life and work of Benjamin Zephaniah. Afua will be in conversation, followed by an audience Q&A. The lecture takes place on Wednesday 4 November at the Bramall Music Building […]

More details

16

Nov

2026

Legacy Live: In Conversation with Elif Shafak

Afua takes Legacy, the history podcast she co-hosts with Peter Frankopan, on stage at Kings Place for an in-person evening with the award-winning novelist Elif Shafak. Afua and Peter will be in conversation with Shafak about her new novel, One Brief Moment in All Eternity, and about the writing of history and memory that runs […]

More details

View More Events

Follow @afuahirsch on Instagram

I will carry this book wherever I go forever more

We live in a world that is sick with oppression, but we have black liberationists, to remind us who we are supposed to be.

This book resonates with me on so many levels
Rejecting the social conditioning that tells us to create art for its own sake

The way some of us have an abusive relationship with music… Saul Williams describes the exact moment he realised hip hop had fallen, infiltrated with the forces that seek to destroy all our conscious movements. “Entertainment” that zombifies. And it was a song I loved sooo much when it came out 🫣

The importance of trip hop! Of Brazil. (Big up @vempraflup !)
Of Amiri Bakara, Assata Shakur, Kwame Ture, Nikki Giovanni, and Paul Robeson…

Paul Robeson, who changed my life when I read his biography age 15, how he was demonised and smeared so that we would not engage with his message, such as:

Every artist, every scientist, must decide NOW where he stands. He has no alternative. There is no standing above the conflict on Olympian heights.
There are no impartial observers.
The artist must take sides

Thank you @saulwilliams 🙏🏽
Songs My Mother Taught Me
WHY THE ARTIST MUST TAKE SIDES
@haymarketbooks

Climbing a 5000 ft live volcano in the middle of the night seemed like the ideal ritual to embody our writers’ transformation after a week of peaceful writing retreat 👀😅

It was harder than we thought!
And also more magical ✨

@writers.portal

Lil BTS from my evening with @barackobama ☺️
@faneproductions
@evierawnsley.mua 💄
@edelinelee 👗
@braidedbybajan 💁🏽‍♀️
@hayleymenziesofficial
All my friends and family who showed up in person and in spirit 🥹

This came around fast! 😮

Join me for a unique in conversation with President Obama in Manchester this Thursday…

Presented by @seatunique
To book your tickets, click the link in bio or visit @faneproductions
✨

Do you crave silence, creativity, inspiration, and sacred beauty?

Join us at the foot of one of Bali’s most magical volcanos, as we gather in luxurious accommodation, heal in glorious nature, and write in one of the most peaceful places on earth.

Whether you have been nurturing an idea that needs time and support, whether you’re already a writer who craves space to focus, or whether you just want to rest and tap into your creative genius, this retreat is for you.

Expect writing sessions with world class writers, lovingly made local food, wellness and healing, and access to one of the most exciting literary festivals in the world

The Writer’s Portal, a truly one of a kind writing retreat

Last remaining place!

Link in bio
@yomi_sode
@mallence
@ubudwritersfest

@dor.ottya Blood of Aurora podcast

See you there! Link in bio ✨✍🏽✨

The normalisation of Zionism, to the point where critiquing it is seen as antisemitic, has been catastrophic. Zionism is at its root a profoundly antisemitic movement as well as an anti-Palestinian one.

But the Jewish tradition of anti-Zionism is older than Zionism itself. Silencing those voices has been an important part of the Israeli colonial settler state, and its legitimising in the world’s eyes.

Grateful to @benjaminfmoser for writing this book
It’s out this week. Read it!

Keep Informed

Stay connected for the latest on events, stories, and exclusive insights delivered right to you.

Books - Decolonising my body cook cover image4

You can buy Decolonising My Body online at the following retailers

Available in hardback, paperback, eBook (including Kindle)
and audiobook