Melissa Cummings-Quarry facts for kids
Melissa Cummings-Quarry is a British author. She also helped start the Black Girls' Book Club. This club is a special place for Black women in the UK to enjoy books and social events together.
Contents
Life Story
How the Book Club Started
Melissa Cummings-Quarry met her friend Natalie A. Carter when they were in secondary school in North-East London. They both loved reading books. They often shared their favorite stories, like Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
Even when Melissa became a business development manager, she and Natalie stayed good friends. In 2016, they decided to create the Black Girls' Book Club.
Growing the Club
Their very first event was a brunch where people could talk about books. Sixty people came to that first meeting! Since then, they have held many events for hundreds of black women. Famous guests like Afua Hirsch, June Sarpong, Malorie Blackman, and Angie Thomas have joined their events.
Writing Books
In 2021, Melissa and Natalie wrote a book together called Grown: The Black Girls' Guide to Glowing Up. Bloomsbury Publishing released the book.
Grown was a very popular book. It was chosen as a finalist for Children's Non-fiction Book of the Year at the 2022 British Book Awards. It was also considered for the 2022 Jhalak Prize.
Other Work
Melissa Cummings-Quarry has also written for newspapers and magazines. She wrote for i and Time Out. In 2021, she helped with a BBC / Open University TV show. It was about how reading on screens affects our brains. In 2022, she was a judge for the BBC Young Writers' Award.
Books Written
- (with Natalie A. Carter) Grown: The Black Girls' Guide to Glowing Up. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.
