7 December 2020
In 1981 Alex Wheatle served time in prison in London following the Brixton riots. His teenage life was turned around by another prisoner who suggested he should start reading the work of black writers - it was the creative spark for his own career as a novelist.
The reading-list included Chester Himes - the "amazingly exciting" American crime writer Wheatle says should be better known.
The moment Wheatle fell in love with black writing is dramatised in a film from Steve McQueen's Small Axe season on BBC One, which airs on Sunday.
