Backstory Talks: Monika Radojevic
Details
Join us for an evening with Monika Radojevic, one of the most exciting voices in contemporary British literature. Born in London to a Brazilian mother and a Montenegrin father, her writing has always been rooted in the questions that come with carrying multiple worlds inside you — identity, belonging, language and love.
An inaugural winner of the #Merky Books New Writers' Prize, Stormzy's Penguin Random House imprint dedicated to uplifting underrepresented voices, she has since published three books. Her debut poetry collection Teeth in the Back of My Neck (2021) established her as a fierce and urgent voice on womanhood and identity. Her short story collection A Beautiful Lack of Consequence (2025), awarded the Cosmopolitan Best Short Story Collection of 2025, weaves the surreal with the everyday across thirty tales about the ways the world bends and breaks women — and what happens when they snap back. Her debut novel Strangerland (2025) is her most personal work yet: a fictionalised retelling of how her own parents met, fell in love and built a life as immigrants in 1990s London. It has been listed as one of the must-read books of 2026 by Service 95, Dua Lipa's book club.
At this Backstory Talk, Monika will share the story behind her writing life, introduce her work and open the floor to your questions. Join us!
If this has sparked something in you, Monika will also be running a writing workshop the following day, 10th June.
More about the author
Monika Radojevic is a London-born Brazilian-Montenegrin poet, writing mentor and author, and the youngest-ever winner of the Merky Books New Writers' Prize. She spent years working in feminist politics before moving to Berlin in August 2025 to write full time. Her writing is a continuous exploration of the messiness of power dynamics. Her book, A Beautiful Lack of Consequence, was awarded the Cosmopolitan Best Short Story collection of 2025. Her debut novel, Strangerland captures the incredible true love story of two immigrants in London in the 90s and was listed as one of the must-read books for 2026 by Service 95, Dua Lipa's book club.