Bernardine’s first non-fiction book, Manifesto: On Never Giving Up, is a memoir in which she looks at her creativity through the prism of her heritage and life – from childhood through to today. It is published by Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Books UK (7th October 2021) & Grove Atlantic (January 2022). Forthcoming: Brazil (Companhia das Letras), France (Globe), Germany (Tropen), Greece (Dardanos), Netherlands (De Geus), Spain (Alianza).
Reviews
A Times Book of the Year
A Sunday Times Book of the Year
Apple Books, Best 15 Books of 2021
A Waterstones Best Book of 2021
A Daunts Book of the Year 2021
A Stylist Best Book for Christmas 2021
Woman & Home Best Books of 2021
A Time Most Anticipated Book 2021
A Time 100 Must-Read Book of 2022
A Kirkus Reviews 40 Most Ancipated Books 2022
A Washington Post 10 Noteworthy Books for January 2022
Entertainment Weekly – 5 Must-Read Books for January
New York Times – Editor’s Choice
A New Statesman Book of the Year, 2022
A Kirkus Best Multicultural Book of 2022
‘When Bernardine Evaristo won the 2019 Booker prize, the acceptance speech wasn’t a problem. Decades previously, as a little-known writer trying to boost her self-confidence with “creative affirmations”, she had fully visualised herself winning the prize. This honest, engaging memoir shares such gems, along with details of Evaristo’s working-class south London childhood — she was one of eight — and the obstacles she overcame as a mixed-race woman in the arts. An optimist, powered by gritty self-belief, she scatters generous tips throughout; the perfect read for anyone who dreams big.’
A Times & Sunday Times ‘Book of the Year’
‘Manifesto is a beautiful, thoughtful and honest book about never giving up, even when it feels like you are “writing into a void”. It is also a meditation on personal transformation, cultural inequalities, activism, belonging, love and friendships – and above all, the power of creativity.’
New Statesman & A Book of the Year 2022
‘Part coming-of-age story and part how-to-manual, the book is, above all, one of the most down-to-earth and least aggrandizing works of self-reflection you could hope to read. Evaristo’s guilelessness is refreshing, even unsettling…Invigoratingly disruptive as an artist, Evaristo is a bridge-builder as a human being.’
Times Literary Supplement
‘Her story up until this point is worth reading not just because it is an entertaining account of a noteworthy life, but because she is unfailingly generous in delineating how she became herself…She is determined not to pull up the ladder behind her and is also, often wickedly funny – particularly about her varied sexual conquests…It has recently been announced that Girl, Woman, Other, is to be added to the A Level English Literature syllabus. How I wish when I was 18, that someone – if not necessarily my school – had also thrust Manifesto into my hands.‘
Evening Standard
‘Manifesto combines the personal with the practical to powerful effect. The chapters run the gamut from Heritage, Childhood, Family, Origins, to The Self, Ambition, Transformation, Activism, and the book ends with the eponymous manifesto, in which Evaristo drives home her message to “pass on what we know to the next generation”, with the reminder that there is a manifesto in every one of us. Unconventional as it may be, the format works: the autobiographical parts of the book serve as vivid lessons about the power of change, growth and self-confidence.‘
Guardian, Book of the Day
‘This humorous and eye-opening memoir is fascinating’…‘lots to unpack – and beautifully told.’
Sunday Telegraph
(‘Five Books that will make you see the world differently’)
‘The most striking feature of this moving and enjoyable book is her fearless openness.’
Sunday Times
Bernardine Evaristo makes a dazzling nonfiction debut with her memoir…a triumphant meditation on her life as a writer…not only provides a compelling look at her life and career, but also provides valuable insights into the intersections of race, gender and identity in our world.’
Time – The 21 Most Anticipated Books of 2022 (USA)
‘Unalloyed insights…exhilarating…remarkable candour and honesty…a moving and highly readable account of a creative life.’
Irish Times
‘Manifesto – part instructional guide for artists, part call to arms for equality, part literary memoir – shimmers with unfailing self-belief and a strong vein of humility.’
The Spectator
‘Raw and emotive…it is a powerful account of how Evaristo got to the top of her game, but there’s also much humour and joy to be found in her frank and exposing anecdotes.’
Yorkshire Post
‘One of the most uplifting memoirs of 2021 is Bernardine Evaristo’s Manifesto. It’s her story of growing up mixed race in Britain and finding her voice as an artist. It’s a calling card for anyone who’s dreamt of something more – of how to build confidence and self-belief and how to pass it on to the next generation.’
Stylist, Best Books for Christmas 2021
‘A remarkable book.’
Radio Times
‘It is intimate details such as these that make this raw and emotive book more memoir than manifesto. It is a powerful account of how Evaristo got to the top of her game – it’s moving, but there’s also much humour and joy to be found in some of her frank and exposing anecdotes.’
Independent
‘It’s moving, funny and engaging read about pursuing passion and embracing life. Her take on ‘positive self-talk’ is inspirational.’
Woman & Home, Best Books of 2021
‘Here, one of the foremost writers of the age unwinds her career and life. In doing so, she has given us a nonfiction bildungsroman that is a towering monument to the creative life of Black women.’
NPR book review, (National Public Radio USA)
‘If “perseverance is genius in disguise,” then Bernardine Evaristo is a 22-carat gold, diamond-encrusted genius. She is the patron saint of persistence and proves it with her ninth book, Manifesto: On Never Giving Up. Having received the 2019 Booker Prize for her novel Girl, Woman, Other, Evaristo was the first Black woman and the first Black Brit to win the prize in its 50-year history. So she now has a global audience for her gospel on persevering.’
Washington Independent Review of Books
‘“Manifesto” is the sturdy, exuberant memoir of a writer who, in pushing herself, also pushed an entire field…“Manifesto” offers an irresistibly paradoxical invitation to writers: Create a literature of those left behind, by letting your heart run free.’
New York Times
‘Evaristo inspires while keeping it real, deftly avoiding the sentimentality and vagueness that too often plague advice books. She lays bare the nuts and bolts of her writing process; pushes back against sexism, racism, and ageism; and imparts her hard-won wisdom unapologetically and with refreshing nuance. A beautiful ode to determination and daring and an intimate look at one of our finest writers.‘
Kirkus, starred review & A ‘Best Multicultural Book’ of 2022
‘Manifesto offers unalloyed insights into the making of a writer, illuminating the artistic journey of the author in an important and refreshing perspective on publishing and creativity in Britain in the last 40 years….In lithe prose, she tackles her complicated relationship with sexuality (“Queerness is a… statement of freedom and enlightenment”), reminisces on hustling her early books (published by “tiny” presses) into readers’ hands and finding “a room of my own” in her writing later in life, and dispenses advice on cultivating creativity and intergenerational consciousness.’
Publishers Weekly
‘Bernardine Evaristo makes a dazzling nonfiction debut with her memoir, Manifesto: On Never Giving Up, a triumphant meditation on her life as a writer, a Black woman and an activist. In taking stock of her experiences, Evaristo—who became the first Black woman to win the Booker prize with her 2019 novel, Girl, Woman, Other, not only provides a compelling look at her life and career, but also provides valuable insights into the intersections of race, gender and identity in our world.’
Time magazine & A 100 Must-read book of 2022
‘Her raw memoir reveals a woman with enough perspective on her own life to tell the truth, and her manifesto is a gift to those seeking their own truths.’
Washington Post
NPR online, National Public Radio USA
‘Manifesto serves as not only a beautifully written, measured companion piece to the fictionalised lives of Girl, Woman, Other, but as a testament to Evaristo’s own trailblazing commitment to creativity, education and activism.’
Buzzfeed
‘Manifesto is an inspiring yet unassuming memoir from a woman of indomitable creative energy.’
Booklist, starred review
‘Fans of Evaristo’s work will discover in Manifesto the passionate core of this unstoppable force in 21st-century literature. Evaristo’s personal manifesto, summarized at the end of this remarkable book, is ripe with inspiration for those who come after her, her advice timeless and applicable to readers at every stage of their artistic endeavours.’
Shelf Awareness
‘Evaristo’s astonishing nonfiction debut, Manifesto, is a vibrant and inspirational account of Evaristo’s life and career as she rebelled against the mainstream and fought over several decades to bring her creative work into the world…She provides a hugely powerful perspective to contemporary conversations around race, class, feminism, sexuality, and aging.’
Bookriot
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