The spotlight is on fellow Londoner, Amelia Kyazze, whom I met years ago, when we both shared the same publisher. We’ve also met at the London Book Fair last year. Amelia is an author and photographer who worked for humanitarian organisations around the world before settling in London. She has recently published The Café on Manor Lane with HarperCollins. She has also published many short stories and two novels under the name of A.B. Kyazze, including Into the Mouth of the Lion (2021) and Ahead of the Shadows (2022). Her writing has been longlisted for the Mslexia Women’s First Novel Prize in 2017, and for the Virginia Women’s Writing Prize in 2024 from Aurora Metro publishers. She also runs creative writing workshops exploring the senses, and is a trustee of the Oxford Centre for Fantasy, a creative writing charity. Get in touch via Instagram at @abk_writing or through the website www.abkyazze.co.uk/contact
IN: Multicultural Southeast London is a vibrant setting in your novel. What inspired you to explore this area, and how does its diversity influence the characters and their stories?
AK: I’ve lived in the UK since 1999, and the last 15 years have been in Southeast London, where, with my British-Ugandan husband, I’ve been raising two young kids. While nowhere is perfect, the community is really diverse and creative, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather live in the UK.
IN: The novel spans from 1952 to 2010, touching on significant historical and cultural shifts in London. How much research did you undertake to capture the atmosphere and challenges of each era authentically?
AK: I did some research, particularly around the Battle of Lewisham in 1977, which is the setting for the preface and arguably the climax of the book. This is when a strong and diverse community in Lewisham and New Cross stood up to far-right protestors; many readers have said these sections are why the book remains very relevant today with the events of the summer in the UK. But as I am writing I try not to get too bogged down in lots of research.
In the early drafting phase, it is important not to get stuck and to just let the words and story flow.
IN: Bella’s story as a young French Jew in post-war London is particularly compelling. How did your own experiences as an American Jewish woman living in London inform her character and the broader themes of displacement and belonging?
AK: The story is informed of my background, and how my husband and I had to find or help create the community where we live. There also have been many people in my life experience in WWII or other conflicts when people were displaced or forced to migrate.
As an immigrant myself, my writing often circles back to themes of whether people are insiders or outsiders, and about faith and belonging.
IN: The Café on Manor Lane is a place of refuge and connection for your characters across different generations. What does this café represent in the context of the novel, and why did you choose it as a central location for your story?
AK: The café itself was just a place in our neighbourhood, and where I started a creative writing exercise one rainy morning. But it is much more than that. As the writing took off and I found that my characters met, fell in love and celebrated important events in the same place, the café really came to life.
IN: As an American writer depicting British history and culture, what unique challenges did you face, and how did you ensure the authenticity of your portrayal of London’s multicultural landscape?
AK: I think my perspective as an immigrant and someone in love with a Ugandan man who has also lived in West Africa before immigrating to the UK, has really influenced this book set in London. There may be questions about how I can say some things, or write from certain perspectives, because I have a specific own background. But I hope that readers will judge me for the writing, and the story. In addition, I’d like to think that my characters have their own personalities, quirks and histories; I find that characters surprise me as I write, and I steer far away from stereotypes.
