Yovanka Paquete Perdigao is a Bissau-Guinean writer, editor, and translator. Born in Lisbon, Yovanka grew up in Guinea-Bissau until the age of six, a civil war in 1998 forced her to relocate to Lisbon and she has since lived in Ivory Coast, Senegal and now London.

Yovanka’s writing has been deeply inspired by her early experience of conflict. When she returned to Guinea-Bissau after more than twenty years, she became interested in researching Portuguese colonial legacies in Lusophone Africa, discovering the impact across oceans and in her own family.

Yovanka’s writing has been featured in several platforms and her manuscript “1998” was shortlisted for Penguin 2016 WriteNow, The Spread the Word’s City of Stories competition and the Miles Morland 2019 scholarship. For more details about Yovanka visit: www.yovanka.co.uk

Diaspora and I Talk Series
This talk series explores and discusses creative practices that are influenced by and document diaspora communities. At each talk, we welcome a creative to talk about their practice and how they draw from their diaspora. Following on from the talk, we open the floor for a discussion on the medium, style or theme in focus.