British Book Awards

Candice Carty-Williams talks Queenie, making history and believing in your unique voice

Credit: Emil Huseynzade

Calling it 'the black Bridget Jones', Carty-Williams knew Queenie wasn't going to be a small book. “I [expected] it to be at the scale of Bridget Jones, that was my expectation and my statement of intent."

The novel tells the raw and unflinching story of 25-year-old British Jamaican Queenie, who is trying to get through a difficult year. Carty-Williams calls it a “modern messy story for black women.”