Hannah Azieb Pool (born 1974) is a British–Eritrean writer and journalist. She was born near the town of Keren during the war for independence from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. She is a former staff writer for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper, and writes regularly for national and international media. She is a patron of the

SI Leeds Literary Prize The SI Leeds Literary Prize is a biennial award founded in 2012 by Soroptimist International of Leeds (SI Leeds) – a branch of the worldwide women's organization Soroptimist International – for unpublished fiction written by Black and Asian w ...

for unpublished fiction by Black and Asian women in the UK. Since 2019, Pool has been Artistic Director/CEO at the

Bernie Grant Arts Centre The Bernie Grant Arts Centre (BGAC) is a £15 million purpose-built multi-arts centre, which includes a 274-seat auditorium, studio/rehearsal space, café/bar, enterprise centre and open spaces. It is located next to the Town Hall in Tottenham, ...

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

north London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

Biography

Early life and education

At the age of six months, Pool was adopted by a British scholar working in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. At first she was raised in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

and then

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, before finally settling in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England. She grew up believing that her genetic parents had died shortly after her birth.Ojumu, Akin
"Ancestral voices"
(review of ''My Fathers' Daughter''), ''The Observer'', 14 August 2005. She was educated at

Liverpool University The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University, it received Royal Charter by King Edward VII in 1903 attaining the de ...

, where she studied Sociology.

Career

After leaving university, Pool became a journalist on the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

'' and has written extensively for ''

'' newspaper, where for several years she wrote the fashion column "The New Black". However, at the age of 19 she had received a letter informing her that her genetic father and siblings were alive in Eritrea. Her memoir, ''My Fathers' Daughter: A story of family and belonging'', was published in 2005 and is an account of the journey she made back to Eritrea, aged 29, and her encounters with her family. Pool was a Senior Programmer of Contemporary Culture at the

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

, London. In February 2019, she took up a new appointment as the Artistic Director/CEO at the

. She is founder of the Tottenham Literature Festival, is a trustee of the

London International Festival of Theatre The London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) is a biennial festival of theatre, performance and cultural events. The organisation also supports year-round activity in London. The organisation was founded by Rose Fenton and Lucy Neal, wi ...

(LIFT), serves on the Artist's Advisory Board of the

Manchester International Festival The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international arts festival, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of Manchester and run by Factory International. The festival is a biennial event, first takin ...

and is also a patron of the

for unpublished fiction by Black and Asian women in the UK. Pool is a contributor to the 2019 anthology ''

New Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora ...

'', edited by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

Bibliography

* ''My Fathers' Daughter'', London: Hamish Hamilton Ltd, 2005. . * ''Fashion Cities Africa'' (editor), University of Chicago Press, 2016. "Fashion Cities Africa"
(review), Intellect.

References

External links

Official website.

Talking TEDs, ''Arise'' magazine, video.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pool, Hannah 1974 births Living people Alumni of the University of Liverpool Black British women writers Black British writers British women journalists English people of Eritrean descent Eritrean women journalists Eritrean women writers People from Keren, Eritrea The Guardian people British women memoirists