The power of creative communities of colour

The past weekend could be described as "booked and busy". Over the past two days, I had the pleasure and privilege to participate in three book-related events that nourished me physically and emotionally. They were the Black Writers' Guild Annual Conference, the Black Books Exchange organised by the Dopereaders Book Club and the Free Books Festival run by Sofia Akel , founder of the Freebooks Campaign.

Saturday was my 2nd year at the BWG conference and it didn't disappoint even with my high expectations from last year. Only at the Black Writers' Guild conference, would the proceedings open with a vocal quartet belting out Michael Jackson, Sam Cooke and Bill Withers while writers leapt into the aisles to groove along in the early afternoon. The panels, the billboard outside White City Warehouse featuring the group photo from last year, the gathering outside Media City for the new photo, the performances and speeches from the likes of Jeffrey Boakye, Professor Kehinde Andrews and Malika Booker, the earnest discussions among colleagues, the call and response readings, the hugs, the laughs, the lashings of Afro-Caribbean food on dinner plates that wouldn't look amiss on Henry VIII's table and the joyful book exchanges, was just a cascade of beautiful moments.

I also met the young powerhouse Romeo Bremmer , who at the age of 16, has already written nine books! What a talented and humble young man. Thank you for your gift of "Hey Black Boy - Windrush 75 Special Edition". You're a credit to your mum Juliet Coley BCAe . It felt like both a family reunion and the most enjoyable work event. Kudos again to Sharmaine Lovegrove Nelson Abbey Symeon Brown, Derek Owusu and the rest of the hard-working BWG team for staging another successful conference. I skipped back on the train to Slough, feeling that my weekend couldn't be topped.

I was quite wrong. Sunday promised more bookish delights with the Black Books Exchange and the climax of the Free Books Festival. On a sunny afternoon in Shoreditch, my writer friends donated books and were in turn invited to select from a stunning array of books by Black authors to take away, thanks to the Dopereaders Club, while jamming to the RnB sounds of the DJ on deck and munching on snacks provided by KIND . A book party? I was in my element. After much browsing, agonising and chatting with fellow book lovers, we reluctantly left BOXPARK Shoreditch to get to Hackney for the Free Books Festival at BSix College in Hackney.

More free books you say? Well, if you insist! Another stunning collection awaited us in the library and the agony of choice again kicked in but we pushed through. There was so much going on; readings for children with celebrity authors Dapo Adeola and Kelechi Okafor , communal readings, storytelling workshops, Senegalese food sampling, exhibitions, interactive installations, documentary viewings and illustrator workshops among other activities.

I stumbled into The Front Room and joined the Why Aren’t We All Readers? - Salon Discussion & Book Exchange run by India Chambers from the Casual Readers Book Club. This gathering of all ages and walks of life was so special. As I listened to the participants all seated in a circle share their feelings about why they read, influential moments in their reading journey or what made them stop reading, I realised what was missing for a lot of us was what the Rasta elders would call sitting and "reasoning"; an intergenerational opportunity to sit and communicate, fireside style about emotive experiences, moments of shared feeling or listening to a taste of the other without judgement, politicising or the gamut of daily intrusions.

At the end of my time at the event, I met the founder Sofia Akel and had the opportunity to thank her for putting this event together. Next year, I hope to attend in its entirety as it is too precious to miss. Apart from the event itself, I met so many beautiful spirits whom I would have likely never crossed paths with otherwise and it was a blessing to commune with and learn from them; whether it was bumping into the lady who puts free books out in London train stations or the young man who created @Iwaju, the Afro-futuristic animated series on Disney Plus or simply spending time chatting with my writer friends over a plate of jollof and learning more about them and their formative experiences.

The Freebooks Campaign focuses on getting books by authors of colour to those who can't afford or access them across the UK and Ireland. To find out more, sign up to their newsletter @freebookscampaign.co.uk

To find out more about my children's books, follow me on Instagram/Facebook at @marvacartyauthor or sign up to my newsletter at www.mangolimepublishing.com