Oh, Sugar – Book Launch
29 October 2024, 06:30-08:00 p.m.
Ink@84 bookshop
Join us with our amazing writer Jane Labous and the launch of her fascinating new novel Oh, Sugar at the iconic Ink84 Bookshop in Highbury, London.
Address:
84 Highbury Park
London N5 2XE
England, UK
Longlisted for the Santa Fé Writers’ Project Literary Prize 2022, OH, SUGAR spans two generations, taking the reader from 21st-century Cornwall to a fictional 1970s dictatorship.
‘A rollicking adventure story with a glorious, Bondesque glamour… Gloria Fontaine is the thinking woman’s James Bond. Left me totally wanting to be a spy!’ — Anne Hamilton, author of The Almost Truth
Jane Labous is the author of three novels: Past Participle (Afsana Press, 2023); The Chameleon Girl (Farafina Books, 2022), and Oh, Sugar, published by Afsana Press in October 2024.
Jane is also an award-winning journalist known for her frontline coverage of human rights, humanitarian and gender issues, always telling the powerful human stories behind the social and political headlines, with credits ranging from the BBC — including regular slots on BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent — to the UN.
Jane’s awards include the BBC Radio 4 and Royal Geographical Society Journey of a Lifetime Award; the Merck More than a Mother Media Recognition & Film Award for Francophone African Countries; a European Journalism Centre Development Reporting Grant, and Best Documentary at the Southampton Film Festival for her documentary project, Angels. In 2024, she was shortlisted for an Amnesty Media Award for her work documenting the stories of child soldiers in Burkina Faso. Her fiction has been longlisted for the Bath Novel Prize and the Santa Fé Writers’ Project Literary Award.
Jane is a devoted single parent, and lives with her daughter in Dorset.
About Jane Labous
Jane Labous is an award-winning author, BBC journalist and broadcaster known for her frontline coverage of human rights and gender issues, always telling the powerful human stories behind the headlines. Her debut novel, The Chameleon Girl, is published in Nigeria by Lagos-based publisher, Farafina Books.
Jane read English & French at Jesus College, Oxford, before working for the UK and international press and INGOs, most often out of Dakar, Senegal. This while developing her creative art as a writer, filmmaker and novelist, drawing on her insider knowledge of the aid sector and foreign journalism, and her unique experience of both expat and local family life in Ngor, Dakar.
Jane’s credits span a vista of international outlets, including The Independent, Voice of America, Geographical, The LA Times, BBC Africa and BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent. She has also worked as a writer and filmmaker for aid/humanitarian agencies including the UN, the World Health Organisation, Save The Children, and Amnesty International. She has won the BBC Radio 4 and Royal Geographical Society Documentary Award, the Merck More than a Mother Media Recognition & Film Award for Francophone African Countries, and a European Journalism Centre Development Reporting Grant. Her fiction has been longlisted for the Bath Novel Prize and the Santa Fé Writers’ Project Literary Award.
As a devoted single parent, Jane often writes stories, characters and locations to honour her daughter, who is half-Senegalese, reflecting their diverse family experience. Together, they love long walks, picnics and adventures in the sea air, gardening, painting, and lots and lots of reading…
Publications & Prizes:
-The Chameleon Girl (Farafina Books, 2022)
-The Bath Novel Prize 2022: Longlisted.
-The Santa Fé Writers Project Literary Award 2022: Longlisted.
-Fiction Factory First Chapter Award 2021: Longlisted.
-BBC Radio 4 and Royal Geographical Society Journey of a Lifetime Award: Award Winner (for The Sand Diggers of Mali).
-Southampton Film Festival: Best Documentary (for You Are Not Alone).
-Merck More Than A Mother Media Recognition & Film Award for Francophone Africa: Award Winner (for You Are Not Alone & Angels).
-One World Media Award: Longlisted (for Cinderellas).
-European Journalism Centre Development Reporting Grant: Award Winner (for Angels).
-Guardian Development Journalism Prize: Award Winner
