Girl Gurl Grrrl: On Womanhood and Belonging in the Age of Black Girl Magic

Hunt, deputy editor of the fashion magazine Grazia UK, debuts with a rich collection of personal essays about her life and career. Reflecting on her experiences as an African American woman in the U.K., Hunt lets readers follow along as she attends the U.K. premiere of Black Panther, confronts the coded racism of Airbnb owners, and reports on the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, the U.K.’s worst residential fire since WWII. To trace the beginnings of her fascination with fashion, Hunt recalls hearing her aunt describe attending the Ebony Fashion Fair, a “traveling catwalk expo,” in Virginia, and the encouragement Hunt received early on in her career from Bethann Hardison, one of the first high-profile Black models and an early activist for industry diversity. Celebrating girl as “the root word in the unique love language between Black woman,” Hunt invites some of the friends she’s made in the U.K. to contribute guest essays, including fashion blogger Freddie Harrel, who riffs on braiding as a female bonding ritual, and Queenie author Candice Carty-Williams, who describes becoming the first Black woman to win a British Book Award. Hunt’s work will broaden perspectives and inspire readers. Agent: Kate Evans, Peters Frasers Dunlop. (Nov.)