Margaret Yvonne Busby, CBE, Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisher[1][2] when she and Clive Allison (1944–2011) co-founded[3] the London-based publishing house Allison and Busby (A & B) in the 1960s.[4] She edited the anthology Daughters of Africa (1992), and its 2019 follow-up New Daughters of Africa.[5] She is a recipient of the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature.[6] In 2020 she was voted one of the "100 Great Black Britons".[7] In 2021, she was honoured with the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award.[8] In 2023, Busby was named as president of English PEN.
Her parents sent their three children to be educated in England when Busby was five. She and her sister first attended a school in the Lake District, followed by Charters Towers School, an international girls' boarding-school in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex.[27][28] After passing her O-levels there aged 14, Busby left school at 15,[29] went back to Ghana and took her A-levels at 16,[30] then spent a year at a college in Cambridge so as not to begin university too young.[28] From the age of 17, she studied English at Bedford College (later merged with Royal Holloway College), London University,[31][28] where she edited her college literary magazine as well as publishing her own poetry, and graduated with a BA Honours degree at the age of 20.[32] She was married to British jazz musician and educator Lionel Grigson (1942–1994).[3]
Publishingedit
While still at university she met her future business partner Clive Allison at a party in Bayswater Road,[33] and they decided to start a publishing company.[3] After graduating, Busby briefly worked at the Cresset Press – part of the Barrie Group – while setting up Allison and Busby (A & B), whose first books were published in 1967,[34] making her the then youngest publisher as well as the first African woman book publisher in the UK – an achievement she has assessed by saying: "[I]t is easy enough to be the first, we can each try something and be the first woman or the first African woman to do X, Y or Z. But, if it's something worthwhile you don't want to be the only. ...I hope that I can, in any way, inspire someone to do what I have done but learn from my mistakes and do better than I have done."[35]
In October 2023, it was announced that Hamish Hamilton would be publishing a volume of Busby's collected writings in a year's time.[53]
Daughters of Africa (1992) and New Daughters of Africa (2019)edit
Busby compiled Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present (London: Cape, 1992),[54][55] described by Black Enterprise as "a landmark", which includes contributions in a range of genres by more than 200 women.[56] Widely reviewed on publication,[57][58] it is now characterised as containing work by "the matriarchs of African literature. They pioneered 'African' writing, in which they were not simply writing stories about their families, communities and countries, but they were also writing themselves into the African literary history and African historiography. They claimed space for women storytellers in the written form, and in some sense reclaimed the woman's role as the creator and carrier of many African societies' narratives, considering that the traditional storytelling session was a women's domain."[59]
Busby edited a 2019 follow-up volume entitled New Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Writing by Women of African Descent (first published by Myriad Editions in the UK), featuring another 200-plus writers from across the African diaspora.[6][60][61][62][63] A reviewer in The Irish Times commented: "Sometimes you need an anthology to remind you of the variety, strength and nuance of writing among a certain region or group of people. New Daughters of Africa is indispensable because African voices have been silenced or diminished throughout history, and women's voices even more so."[64]
Busby has contributed to books including Colours of a New Day: Writing for South Africa (eds Sarah LeFanu and Stephen Hayward, 1990), Mothers: Reflections by Daughters (ed. Joanna Goldsworthy, 1995),[74]IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain (eds Kadija Sesay and Courttia Newland, 2000),[75]Why 2K? Anthology for a New Era (2000), The Legacy of Efua Sutherland (2007), Essays in Honour of Ama Ata Aidoo at 70 (2012),[76]99 words (ed. Liz Gray, 2011),[77]Black British Perspectives: A Series of Conversations on Black Art Forms (ed. Kadija Sesay, 2011),[78]James Barnor: Ever Young (2015),[79]If I Could Tell You Just One Thing...: Encounters with Remarkable People and Their Most Valuable Advice (by Richard Reed, 2016),[80][81]Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible (by Elizabeth Uviebinené and Yomi Adegoke, 2018),[82] and Chris Fite-Wassilak's The Artist in Time (July 2020).[83][84]
In 2014, Busby co-authored with Ishmahil Blagrove Carnival: A Photographic and Testimonial History of the Notting Hill Carnival.[85] Among other books for which she has written introductions or forewords are the Penguin Modern Classics edition of A Question of Power by Bessie Head, Emerging Perspectives on Buchi Emecheta (ed. Marie Umeh, 1996), Beyond Words: South African Poetics (with Keorapetse Kgositsile, Don Mattera, Lebo Mashile and Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, 2009),[86] and To Sweeten Bitter (2017) by Raymond Antrobus.[87] With Darcus Howe, Busby co-edited C.L.R. James's 80th Birthday Lectures (Race Today Publications, 1984),[88] and she is co-editor with Beverley Mason FRSA of No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960–1990, a 2018 publication arising out of the 2015–16 exhibition No Colour Bar held at the Guildhall Art Gallery.[89][90] The 2023 volume Empire Windrush: Reflections on 75 Years & More of the Black British Experience, edited by Onyekachi Wambu, includes a Preface by Busby,[91] as does Blazing Trails (2023) by Gus John.[92]
Busby was a prominent participant in the major 2019 exhibition Get Up, Stand Up Now: Generations of Black Creative Pioneers at Somerset House,[93][94] and contributed an introductory essay for the catalogue,[95][96] as well as participating in events there.[97]
She has worked continuously for diversity within the publishing industry, writing in a 1984 article in the New Statesman: "Is it enough to respond to a demand for books reflecting the presence of 'ethnic minorities' while perpetuating a system which does not actively encourage their involvement at all levels? The reality is that the appearance and circulation of books supposedly produced with these communities in mind is usually dependent on what the dominant white (male) community, which controls schools, libraries, bookshops and publishing houses, will permit."[141] In the 1980s, she was a founding member of the organization Greater Access to Publishing (GAP),[2][34][142] which engaged in campaigns for increased Black representation in British publishing.[143][144] Other members of this multi-racial group, which held a conference in November 1987 particularly to highlight publishing as an option for Black women,[145] included Lennie Goodings, Maggie Scott, Ros de Lanerolle, Yvonne Collymore, Paula Kahn, Toks Williams, Kothai Christie, and Jacqui Roach.[146]
Busby was the patron of Independent Black Publishers (IBP), a trade association chaired by Verna Wilkins.[36][147][148] The aim of IBP, as Busby was quoted as saying, was to "provide a forum for progressive black publishers to share initiatives, maximise mutual strengths and identify common difficulties, with a view to having a more effective impact on the book trade and the wider publishing industry", and in 2007 at the London Book Fair a joint IBP stand showcased the books of Bogle-L'Ouverture Press, Tamarind Books, the X Press, Ayebia Clarke Publishing, Joan Anim-Addo's Mango Press, and other ventures.[149] In a 2012 interview with Tricia Wombell, Busby said: "It is important to document and celebrate the achievements of many of our Black creatives (…) so that they do not get written out of history simply because their importance may not be recognised by the mainstream."[150]
In March 2024, she gave the keynote address at opening of the Johannesburg Festival of Women Writers, hosted by the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Johannesburg,[187][188] which was on the theme "Mothers and Daughters: An Intergenerational Conversation".[189][190] In the same month, she also participated in the 27th Time of the Writer Festival in Durban, South Africa.[191]
Also in 2018, she was among 150 "Leading Women" celebrated by the University of London to mark the 150 years since women gained access to higher education in the UK in 1868,[195] and featured in the exhibition Rights for Women: London's Pioneers in their Own Words staged at Senate House Library from 16 July to 15 December 2018.[196]
In July 2019, she was awarded the inaugural Africa Writes Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to her at the British Library during the Royal African Society's annual literary weekend by Ade Solanke and Diane Abbott as part of the festival headline event celebrating Busby's anthology New Daughters of Africa.[197][198][199][200]
In UK Black History Month 2019, Zadie Smith said that Busby "has been a cheerleader, instigator, organiser, defender and celebrator of black arts for the past 50 years, shouting about us from the rooftops, even back when few people cared to listen. 'We can because she did' is a cliché but in Margaret's case it is both true and no exaggeration. She helped change the landscape of both UK publishing and arts coverage and so many Black British artists owe her a debt. I know I do."[209]Afua Hirsch described Busby's impact on her career by saying that "as a black woman trying to find my own voice, [Margaret] has been endlessly interested, supportive and enthusiastic about helping a generation like me find our place and our ability to make change through writing."[210]
She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to publishing.[216] She was quoted in the Hackney Gazette as saying: "Well, I know I did not fall from the sky; whenever I am offered any such award, my accepting it is also on behalf of and to acknowledge everyone who made me what I am, and those whom I have worked with along the way - so I gladly share this recognition with many others who deserve equally to be honoured for contributing excellence in countless spheres of work."[217]
1999: Enstooled as Nana Akua Ackon, of Bentsir No. 1 Asafo company, Oguaa (Cape Coast) – the first of seven traditional warrior groups established to protect the area.[230][231]
2004: Open University Honorary Doctorate[232] for Services to the Arts and Sciences.
2004: Featured in "A Great Day in London" photograph at the British Library among 50 Black and Asian writers who have made major contributions to British literature.[233][234]
^ abJazzmine Breary, "Let's not forget", in Writing the Future: Black and Asian Writers and Publishers in the UK Market Place, Spread the Word, April 2013, p. 30.
^ abcMargaret Busby, "Clive Allison obituary", The Guardian, 3 August 2011.
^"Black History Month in Britain: Great women you should know about", Newsround, BBC, 1 October 2018.
^Margaret Busby, "From Ayòbámi Adébáyò to Zadie Smith: meet the New Daughters of Africa", The Guardian, 9 March 2019.
^ abNatasha Onwuemezi, "Busby to compile anthology of African women writers", The Bookseller, 15 December 2017.
^"Dr George Busby Plaque Unveiling" (video), 14 April 2020.
^Tony Martin, The Progress of the African Race Since Emancipation and Prospects for the Future, Port-of-Spain: Emancipation Support Committee/Dover, MA: The Majority Press, 1998, pp. 8–9.
^"Blue Plaque Honouring Dr George Alfred Busby father of Margaret Busby to be Unveiled Mar 9", Alt A Review, March 2020.
^The Literator, "Cover Stories: Sue Freestone; Margaret Busby; Zadie Smith", The Independent, 16 June 2006.
^Thomson Fontaine, "George James Christian: Pioneer in Africa", TheDominican.net, Volume No. 1, Issue No. 32, 27 November 2002.
^Gary Crosby, "RIP Ken Gordon (1927–2013)", 9 November 2013.
^Stephen Owoahene Acheampong, "Book Review: Returned Exile: A Biography of George James Christian of Dominica and the Gold Coast, 1869-1940", Contemporary Journal of African Studies 4(2):179, June 2017.
^Lester Lewis, "Pan Africans On The Rise Again", RaceandHistory.com, 23 January 2001.
^Marika Sherwood, Origins of Pan-Africanism: Henry Sylvester Williams, Africa, and the African Diaspora, Routledge, 2011, p. 336, note 13.
^Margaret Rouse-Jones; Estelle Appiah (2016). Returned Exile: A Biography of George James Christian of Dominica and the Gold Coast, 1869–1940. Mona, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 978-9766405885 – via Google Books.
^Dr Glenville Ashby, "A Defining Moment In Black History", The Gleaner, 30 April 2017.
^ abcMargaret Busby, "We are the world: Trumpeting our words", Griffith Review, 59: Commonwealth Now, January 2018.
^ abcLadipo Manyika, Sarah (7 March 2019). "On Meeting Margaret Busby". Granta.
^Jill Lupupa (25 October 2020). "Black British women pioneers: Margaret Busby OBE". My Goddess Complex.
^Satch Hoyt, "Margaret Busby: What it takes to be the first Black Woman Publisher in the UK – Part 1", Afro-Sonic Mapping, 25 June 1919.
^Alison Donnell, "Busby, Margaret", Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture, Routledge, 2002.
^"London's most remarkable Publishing Firm", Ebony, March 1971, pp. 43–50.
^ ab"Margaret Busby remembers Clive Allison". Poetry Book Society. 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016.
^ abcBusby, "'Is it still a case of plus ça change?'", The Bookseller, 4 November 2016.
^Ellen Mitchell and Sophie Kulik, "Q&A: Margaret Busby on 'New Daughters of Africa'", Africa In Words, 29 June 2019.
^ abcd"Margaret Busby – Prize Ambassador", SI Leeds Literary Prize.
^Margaret Busby, "Sam Greenlee obituary", The Guardian, 2 June 2014.
^Emma Bartholomew, "CLR James' publisher Margaret Busby: 'My 50 years working with books'", Hackney Gazette, 25 January 2017.
^Ezeigbo, Akachi, "Celebrating Buchi Emecheta in London a year after", The Guardian (Nigeria), 11 February 2018.
^Cobbinah, Angela, "How African writer gave women and girls a voice", Camden New Journal, 16 February 2018.
^Chris Fite-Wassilak, "An Artist in Time: Margaret Busby", Baring Foundation], 17 November 2020.
^"Do the Harlem shuffle – Margaret Busby explores the tangled life and work of Chester Himes in James Sallis' biography", The Guardian, 21 October 2000.
^"'I am headed for higher ground' – Reading the final instalment of Maya Angelou's memoir is painful but moving, says Margaret Busby", The Guardian, 15 June 2002.
^"Marvels of the holy hour: Margaret Busby is fascinated by Wole Soyinka's witty, dramatic account of his life, You Must Set Forth at Dawn", The Guardian, 26 May 2007.
^Margaret Busby, "Little Liberia: An African Odyssey in New York City by Jonny Steinberg – review", The Guardian, 12 March 2011.
^Margaret Busby, "Books: Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge" (review), The Sunday Times, 25 September 2016.
^Margaret Busby, "Homing instinct" (review of Black Gold of the Sun: searching for home in England and Africa by Ekow Eshun), New Statesman, 30 May 2005.
^Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Margaret Busby, Diran Adebayo. "Non-Traditional Channels: A Literary Conversation". In: Kadija Sesay (ed.), Black British Perspectives: Conversations on Black Art Forms, London: SAKS Publications, 2011.
^"A conversation: James Barnor, Margaret Busby and Francis Hodgson", Ever Young: Photographs of James Barnor, London, UK, and Paris, France: Clémentine de la Ferronière; Autograph ABP, 2015.
^Richard Reed, If I Could Tell You Just One Thing, Canongate, 2016.
^Jim O'Brien, "Remain faithful to your first aspiration, and 63 other sage nuggets of advice", Independent.ie, 18 October 2020.
^Arifa Akbar, "How to be a black woman and succeed: two friends who have written the manual", The Guardian, 24 June 2018.
^"Have a go", The Baring Foundation Blog, 28 July 2020.
^"The Artist in Time: A Generation of Great British Creatives", Bloomsbury.
^"Fantastic new photobook celebrates the history of Notting Hill Carnival", It's Nice That, 22 August 2014.
^Irene Gaitirira, "Will Leading Poet and Activist's Death Inspire Young Authors and Poets?", Lola Kenya Screen, 7 January 2018.
^"To Sweeten Bitter, Chapbook from Outspoken Press". Raymond Antrobus. 20 March 2017.
^"C.L.R. James's 80th Birthday Lectures" at Google Books.
^"No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960–1990 catalogue", Diaspora Artists.
^"Media Release | Empire Windrush: Reflections on 75 Years & More of the Black British Experience (ed.) Onyekachi Wambu | Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 22 June, 2023", BookBlast Diary, June 2023.
^"Professor Gus John | Part 1 | 'Don't Salvage The Empire Windrush'", New Beacon Books, 2023.
^Maya Jaggi, "Jewels from the Windrush: Get Up, Stand Up Now at Somerset House", Financial Times, 14 June 2019.
^"NEW WORKS AND EVENTS FOR GET UP, STAND UP NOW: GENERATIONS OF BLACK CREATIVE PIONEERS ANNOUNCED", 12 June – 15 September 2019, West Wing Galleries, Somerset House, London.
^"Get Up, Stand Up Now: Generations of Black Creative Pioneers", Museum Geographies, 4 August 2019.
^Margaret Busby, "HORACE OVÉ AND NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL", Somerset House, 22 August 2019.
^"Margaret Busby Presents: New Daughters of Africa: Part of Get Up, Stand Up Now". Somerset House. 9 September 2019.
^"Margaret Busby", British Universities Film & Video Council.
^"Beyond a Boundary", BBC, Radio Times, Issue 3787, 22 August 1996: Abridged in five parts (25–30 August 1996) by Margaret Busby, produced by Pam Fraser Solomon.
^Suman Bhuchar, H. O.", in Alison Donnell (ed.), Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture, Routledge, 2002, p. 214.
^Margaret Busby, "2015: The Year of Being Connected, Exhibition-wise", Wasafiri, Volume 31, Issue 4, November 2016.
^"Penumbra Productions". BFI. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020.
^Mary Brennan, "Rhythms of everyday life", The Herald (Glasgow), 10 February 2000.
^"Adzido Pan African Dance Ensemble – Yaa Asantewaa-Warrior Queen", UK Theatre Web, Archive Listings.
^Osei Boateng, "Yaa Asantewaa on stage: The Exploits of Yaa Asantewaa, the Warrior Queen of the Asantes...", New African, 1 April 2001. The Free Library.
^Pajohn Dadson, "Ghana: Yaa Asantewaa Has Landed", AfricaNews, 18 May 2001.
^Cameron Duodu, "Yaa Asantewaa – warrior queen. (The Arts)", New African, 1 June 2001. The Free Library.
^Margaret Busby, "Geraldine Connor obituary", The Guardian, 31 October 2011.
^"Yaa Asantewaa: Warrior Queen", Black Plays Archive, National Theatre.
^McCaskie, T. C. "The Life and Afterlife of Yaa Asantewaa". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, vol. 77, no. 2, 2007, pp. 151–79. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40026704.
^Felix Cross, "Belle: An Unexpected Journey" Archived 17 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Nitro, 13 June 2014.
^"African Cargo, An", Black Plays Archive, Royal National Theatre.
^"AFRICAN CARGO Greenwich Theatre, London. 2007", Felix Cross MBE.
^Colette Lebrasse, "Say It Loud" Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine (An African Cargo @ Greenwich Theatre), reviewed 1 September 2007.
^If 2 review by Easy Livin, Progarchives.com, 9 June 2011: "'Shadows and Echoes' was co-written by Lionel Grigson with his then partner Margaret Busby. The late Grigson was well known during the early jazz/fusion scene, and was a member of If prior to the recording of their first album. The songs focuses on the band's softer, lighter side, featuring flute and a fine vocal."
^John Stevenson, "Margaret Busby: Doyenne of Black British Publishing", Black History Month 365, 28 September 2016.
^Paola Vera (15 July 2020). "Norma Winstone, a true British legend". Jazz in Europe. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
^"Birthday Wishes and Greetings for Norma Winstone at 80", London Jazz News, 23 September 2021.
^Natalie Williams. "Trini Abroad – Escape from Egypt". Caribbean Intelligence.
^Rachel Holmes, "Black History Month: A – Z", The Metropolist, 3 October 2014.
^Lloyd Lewis Hayter, "Maya Angelou – A Celebration, Southbank Centre – review", Afridiziak Theatre News, 7 October 2014.
^Margaret Busby, "A healing pen, a letterbox smile: Auntie Maya, angel of the South", The Sunday Times, 28 September 2014.
^"London Literature Festival 2014 Southbank Centre". 12 August 2014. p. 22.
^"Desert Island Discs - Margaret Busby". BBC. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
^"Pioneering publisher Margaret Busby says industry still needs more diversity", The Irish Times, 26 June 2021.
^Margaret Busby, "Black Books", New Statesman, April 1984, quoted in "'Is it still a case of plus ça change?'", The Bookseller, 4 November 2016.
^"Promoting diversity in publishing" Archived 19 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Editorial Training, 2 June 2010.
^"Address of Margaret Busby to the opening of the 11th International Book Fair on Thursday March 25th 1993", Sarah White, Roxy Harris & Sharmilla Beezmohun (eds), A Meeting of the Continents: The International Book Fair of Radical Black and Third World Books – Revisited, London: New Beacon Books/George Padmore Institute, 2005 (ISBN 978-1873201183), pp. 499–500.
^S. L. Bridglal, "Tea with Toni Morrison", The Observer, 27 December 2015.
^Margaret Busby, "Maya Angelou dies: Appreciation by her friend Margaret Busby", The Independent, 29 May 2024.
^Margaret Busby, "Foreword: An Open Letter to Ama Ata Aidoo", in Anne V. Adams (ed.), Essays in Honour of Ama Ata Aidoo at 70: A Reader in African Cultural Studies, Ayebia Clarke Publishing, 2012.
^Sarah Shaffi, "Malorie Blackman's 'dynamic imaginary worlds' win her the PEN Pinter prize", The Guardian, 21 June 2022.
^Gus John, "Obituary: Cy Grant, November 8, 1919 – February 13, 2010", Stabroek News, 28 February 2010.
^"OWWA's First 20 Years" (PDF). Organization of Women Writers of Africa, Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
^"2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature Longlist Revealed". African Literary Magazines. The Single Story Foundation. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
^Bassey, Udo, "Board of Patrons of 9mobile literature prize resigns", Premium Times, 2 August 2019.
^"Trustees" Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Wasafiri.
^Kandziora, Jörg (3 November 2022). "Berlin's African book festival: shades of Blackness in Conversation". amsterdam Alternative. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
^"Participants of Berlin's African Book Festival 2022 Revealed". James Murua's Literature Blog. 28 June 2022.
^"African Book Festival in Berlin 2022. A Report". Culture Africa. 9 September 2022.
^Khumbulani Mngadi. "The African Book Festival 2022 - Representing Africa in all its Diversity | UKZN Voices".
^James Murua, "Margaret Busby to headline Johannesburg Festival of Women Writers 2024", Writing Africa, 1 March 2024.
^Letlhokwa George Mpedi, "Championing women writers is crucial for correcting the historical imbalances in literature", Daily Maverick, 13 March 2024.
^Lesego Chepape, "Festival a 'platform for women's untold stories'", Mail & Guardian, 8 March 2024.
^"Margaret Busby: An icon of literary publishing and female empowerment", Fatshimetrie, 8 March 2024.
^Ellah Wakatama Allfrey (2017), "An Interview with Margaret Busby", Wasafiri, 32:4, pp. 2–6, DOI: 10.1080/02690055.2017.1350364.
^Dennis Abrams, "On Publishing Genre Fiction in Africa", Publishing Perspectives, 16 October 2014.
^"Sharmaine Lovegrove: 'If you don't have a diverse workforce or product, sooner or later you won't exist'", The Guardian, 18 March 2018.
^"Women In Publishing: An Interview with the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize", The Literary Consultancy, 30 May 2019.
^Serina Sandhu and Heather Saul, "The black women who inspired me: 'So many black British artists owe her a debt' | This Black History Month, leading black women tell i about the trailblazing black women who inspired them", i, 29 October 2019.
^Niamh McCollum, "#ShareBlackStories is throwing a spotlight on the black British experience", Marie Claire, 15 October 2019.
^"Officially 'Great'", The Booker Prizes, 2 October 2020.
^"The London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award 2021", London Book Fair, 20 May 2021.
^Roger Tagholm, "London Book Fair Delivers Its Lifetime Achievement Award to Margaret Busby", Publishing Perspectives, 23 September 2021.
^Sian Bayley, "Margaret Busby receives LBF Lifetime Achievement Award", The Bookseller, 24 September 2021.
^"SOAS Honorary Margaret Busby receives the 2021 London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award", SOAS University of London, 30 September 2021.
^Holly Chant, "Queens [sic Birthday Honours List 2021: MP Meg Hillier and poet Lemn Sissay among those recognised"], Hackney Gazette, 11 June 2021; updated 14 June 2021.
^"Open University Honorary Graduates 2004", Sesame, The Open University.
^"Leading Pioneers And Innovators Honoured", The Voice, 3 October 2019.
^"Ghanaian born publisher, editor and broadcaster, Margaret Busby CBE awarded honorary degree from Royal Holloway". Royal Holloway, University of London. 24 June 2021.
^"Inspiring diversity and refugee campaigners and pioneering media and election experts amongst those being honoured at University of Exeter graduation ceremonies". Student News. University of Exeter. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
^"Margaret Busby appointed President of English PEN", English PEN, 19 April 2023.
^Sian Bayley, "Busby appointed president of English PEN", The Bookseller, 19 April 2023.
^Sarah Shaffi, "Pioneering publisher Margaret Busby named new president of PEN", The Guardian, 19 April 2023.
^ abBlack Power: Photographs by Donald MacLellan, National Portrait Gallery.
^"Mayotte Magnus: Photographs of Women", National Portrait Gallery 21 October to 11 December 1977.
^"Judi! Edna! Glenda! Women who lit up the 70s – in pictures", The Guardian, 16 October 2018.
^Tim Keane, "Photographing the Women of British Art", Hyperallergic, 19 January 2019.
^AKA International Region at Sigma Theta Omega Chapter.
^"Diversity – Margaret Busby" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, EMMA (Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy).
^Aida Edemariam, "Margaret Busby: how Britain's first black female publisher revolutionised literature – and never gave up", The Guardian, 22 October 2020.
^"Doctor of the University 1973–2011" Archived 13 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Honorary Degree Awards 1973–2011.
^Andrea Levy, "Made in Britain. To celebrate the impact of their different perspectives, 50 writers of Caribbean, Asian and African descent gathered to be photographed. Andrea Levy reports on a great day for literature", The Guardian, 18 September 2004.
^Kevin Le Gendre, "Books: A great day for a family get together; Who are the movers and shakers in black British writing? And can they all fit on one staircase?", The Independent on Sunday, 17 October 2004.
^"31st December, 2005, New Year Honours" Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Government News.
^Honorary Fellows Archived 27 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Queen Mary, University of London.
^"Margaret Busby, OBE" (Biography) Archived 19 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, NGC Bocas Lit Fest.
^"Bocas Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters" Archived 2 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, NGC Bocas Lit Fest.
^"UK African Heritage High Achievers Recognition Award Presentation Ceremony", House of Amau, 30 September 2015.
^"UK Afrikan Heritage High Achievers Award", House of AMAU, London, 23 August 2015.
^"Another Honour for Margaret Busby OBE", George Padmore Institute, 20 October 2015.
^Evelyn Osagie, "Echoes of Achebe's works at writers' show", The Nation (Nigeria), 25 November 2015.
^Natasha Onwuemezi, "Rankin, McDermid and Levy named new RSL fellows", The Bookseller, 7 June 2017.
^"Current RSL Fellows". Royal Society of Literature.
^"Daughter of Africa: Celebrating Margaret Busby's 50 Years in Publishing and Beyond", Goldsmiths, 1 December 2017.
^"Leading Women gather in St James's Palace to celebrate 150 years of women's higher education in the UK", University of London, 30 January 2019.
^Olatoun Gabi-Williams, "Margaret Busby Wins Inaugural Royal African Society Africa Writes Lifetime Achievement Award in African Literature", Academia.edu, 2019.
^"SOAS celebrates leading figures from the world of literature, law, journalism and finance honoured at this year's graduation", SOAS, 15 July 2019; via Asosiasi LBH APIK, 27 July 2019.
^"Honorary Awardees 2020", Staff Intranet, Royal Holloway, University of London, 1 October 2019.
^Emilio Costales, "Pioneering publisher Margaret Busby comes to Royal Holloway", Royal Holloway Enterprise Hub, 15 November 2019.
^Rhian Lubin, "Black heroes who helped shape Britain - from Queen of the Ivories to a Tudor trumpeter", Mirror, 11 September 2020.
^Ruth Comerford, "Margaret Busby wins LBF Lifetime Achievement Award", The Bookseller, 20 May 2021.
^"Margaret Busby to receive The London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award 2021", Black History Month Magazine, 22 May 2021.
^Sian Bayley, "Busby and Page recognised in Queen's birthday honours list", The Bookseller, 11 June 2021.
^"Margaret Busby CBE, Hon. FRSL (DLitt)", University of Exeter, June 2022.
^"Oxford Brookes University announces six inspiring Honorary Graduates for September 2023", Oxford Brookes University, 5 September 2023.
^Leah Mahon, "GUBA Awards 2023: Black icons honoured in glittering return to the UK", The Voice, 7 November 2023.
Further readingedit
Carole Boyce Davies (2005), "Women and Literature in the African Diaspora", in Ember, M., C. R. Ember, and I. Skoggard (eds), Encyclopedia of Diasporas. Springer, Boston, MA, pp. 383–392. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-29904-4_38.
Constantia Nicolaides, "Trailblazing Through Time: Publishers". National Portrait Gallery.
Shola von Reinhold, "What happened to Britain's black avant-garde fiction writers?", Voices, The Independent, 12 May 2019.
Interviews and profilesedit
Aida Edemariam, "Margaret Busby: how Britain's first black female publisher revolutionised literature – and never gave up", The Guardian, 22 October 2020.
"Women's History Month: We Celebrate Margaret Busby OBE", The Voice, 31 March 2017.
Shereen Ali, "Sharing our Voices", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 29 April 2015.
John Stevenson, "Margaret Busby: Doyenne of Black British Publishing", Black History Month 365, 28 September 2016.
Ellen Mitchell and Sophie Kulik, "Q&A: Margaret Busby on 'New Daughters of Africa'", Africa In Words, 29 June 2019.
Claire Shepherd, "Margaret Busby OBE – 'Africa Writes – Lifetime Achievement'", Culturepulse Magazine (September Issue), 31 August 2019, pp. 9–14.
"The Margaret Busby Interview| A 'Daughter of Africa'", Alt A Review, April 2019.
Satch Hoyt, "Margaret Busby: What it takes to be the first Black Woman Publisher in the UK – Part 1", "Part 2", "Part 3", Afro-Sonic Mapping, 9 July 1919.
"In Conversation with Margaret Busby", Literandra, 22 March 2020.
"An Artist in Time: Margaret Busby", Baring Foundation, 17 November 2020.
"Celebrating Margaret Busby", Book word, 24 December 2020.
"Margaret Busby: 'At school I could count in Farsi...". Margaret Busby in conversation with Burt Caesar, Writers Mosaic.
External linksedit
"People of Letters | 2019", Museum of Colour, "Margaret Busby" (Photography by Sharron Wallace).