Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and mostly educated in the UK. She is a Senior Lecturer on the MA/MFA in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University, and tutor for the Norwich Writers Centre. Her seventh book, The Mermaid of Black Conch, won the Costa Book of the Year Award in 2020. She is the author of seven books, six novels and a memoir. Four of her novels are set in Trinidad and the Caribbean region.

The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story is published by Peepal Tree. It's set in April 1976, in St Constance, a tiny Caribbean village on the island of Black Conch. David, a fisherman, sings to himself in his pirogue, waiting for a catch – and attracts a sea-dweller he doesn’t expect. Aycayia, a centuries-old mermaid, is drawn to his singing. But her curiosity is her undoing when she is caught by American tourists... David rescues her and hides her away, where she slowly, painfully turns into a woman.

In this event she will read from The Mermaid of Black Conch, talk about her work with Deirdre O'Byrne, and answer questions from the audience.

The event will be streamed live on Zoom and later uploaded to our YouTube channel.

You can buy the book from Five Leaves Bookshop's online webshop or, if you live in the UK, you can buy it when you register for this event and we'll send it to you post-free.