John R. Gordon (born 1964) is a British writer. His work – novels, plays, screenplays and biography - deals with the intersections of race, sexuality and class. With

Rikki Beadle-Blair Richard Barrington "Rikki" Beadle-Blair MBE (born 25 July 1961) is a British actor, director, and playwright. He is the artistic director of multi-media production company Team Angelica. Early life Beadle-Blair was born in Camberwell and r ...

he founded and runs queer-of-colour-centric indie press Team Angelica. Although he was a "white person from a white suburb", according to Gordon, in the 1980s he became deeply interested in black cultural figures such as

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

and

Frantz Fanon Frantz Omar Fanon (, ; ; 20 July 1925 – 6 December 1961) was a French West Indian psychiatrist, political philosopher, and Marxist from the French colony of Martinique (today a French department). His works have become influential in the ...

, and they have influenced his work ever since.

Early work

Between 1993 and 2001 Gordon published three groundbreaking novels of Black gay British life, ''Black Butterflies'', ''Skin Deep'', and ''Warriors & Outlaws'' (the first two with Gay Men's Press, the third with Millivres/Prowler). In 1995 he directed his play ''Wheels of Steel'', about a closeted young thug paralysed in a joyriding accident and his flamboyant male nurse, at the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochla ...

, London. It starred

and

Karl Collins Karl Collins is a British actor. He is known for his television roles as Danny Glaze in ''The Bill'', Louis Loveday in ''Hollyoaks'', and Shaun Temple in ''Doctor Who''. He played Noah in the Apple TV series Trying, Lennox in the BBC Series Cham ...

, who went on to play each other's estranged husbands in Beadle-Blair's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

series '' Metrosexuality''. He wrote a 1999 sitcom pilot ''The Melting Pot'' about a macho black British man (

Felix Dexter Felix Dexter (26 July 1961
''

< ...

) coming to terms with his long-lost Jamaican brother's homosexuality. Although it never made it beyond Channel 4's Sitcom Festival to television, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' praised it for offering innovative characters and situations. It also starred

Terry Alderton Terry John Alderton (born 31 October 1970) is an English comedian who had acting and presenting roles in the early 2000s before returning to stand-up comedy a decade later. Personal life Alderton was born on 31 October 1970 in Rochford, Ess ...

''Noah's Arc''

Gordon script-edited two seasons of

Patrik-Ian Polk Patrik-Ian Polk (born July 29, 1973 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Polk, who is gay, is noted for his films and theatre work that explore the experiences and stories of African Americans, Africa ...

's television show '' Noah's Arc'' (2005–6) for the US cable channel

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

. He wrote two episodes of the second season,(''Desperado'' and ''Under Pressure''), and across 2007 co-storylined (with Polk and Q. Allan Brocka) the spin-off feature-film, subsequently co-writing the screenplay with Polk. The film, '' Noah's Arc: Jumping The Broom'', was given a limited release in six American cities, where it played to sold-out houses at the end of October 2008 and recouped $500,000 in ticket sales alone. The "Jumping The Broom" script that Gordon and Polk wrote was nominated for an

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

Image Award, as was the film itself in the Best Independent Feature category. In April 2009 the film won the

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

Best (limited release) Feature Film Award. In 2020 he co-executive produced '' Noah's Arc: The "Rona Chronicles"'', a reunion episode written and directed by Polk, and presented by

Gilead Sciences Gilead Sciences, Inc. () is an American biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, California, that focuses on researching and developing antiviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, influenza, and CO ...

on 5 July. It starred all original cast members and included a feature cameo by

Wanda Sykes Wanda Yvette Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on ''The Chris Rock Show'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, ''Entertainme ...

as Noah's mother, for which she was nominated for a 2021

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Daytime Fiction Program. In January 2021 it was awarded a

Special Recognition Award. A further standalone TV feature film, Noah's Arc: The Movie, reuniting the original cast, and for which Gordon co-storylined and executive produced, was first shown on the

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

streaming channel on June 20, 2025.

''Souljah'' (short film)

His 10-minute short film ''Souljah'' – about a gay African former child soldier (B3/Angelica Entertainments 2007), and directed by

– premiered at the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

on 30 October 2007. In July 2008 ''Souljah'' won the award for Best Short Film at the Rushes Soho Shorts Film Festival. April 2009 it won Best International Short at the Toronto

Reelworld Film Festival Reelworld Film Festival, founded in 2001 by Tonya Williams, is held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival screens film and provides professional development for Canadian racially diverse and indigenous filmmakers and media artists. ...

. It was directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair for Team Angelica Productions and produced by Beadle-Blair, Gordon and Carleen Beadle.

As publisher

In 2011, with Rikki Beadle-Blair he established the radical queer-of-colour-focused imprint Team Angelica Publishing. Its first book was Beadle-Blair's ''What I Learned Today''. In 2013 they published the well-received and groundbreaking short-story collection ''Fairytales for Lost Children'' by gay Somali author Diriye Osman. On 8 October 2014 ''Fairytales for Lost Children'' won the

Polari Polari () is a form of slang or Cant (language), cant historically used primarily in the United Kingdom by some actors, circus and fairground performers, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and prostitutes, and particula ...

First Book Prize. In 2015 they published

Roz Kaveney Roz Kaveney (born 9 July 1949) is a British writer, critic, and poet, best known for her critical works about pop culture and for being a core member of the Midnight Rose collective. Kaveney's works include fiction and non-fiction, poetry, revi ...

's novel, ''Tiny Pieces of Skull'', which went on to win the 2016 Best Trans Fiction

Lambda Literary The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legaci ...

Award. In November 2017 they published the first ever gay African memoir, ''Lives of Great Men'' by Chike Frankie Edozien. It was favourably reviewed in the London ''Financial Times'' and won the Best Gay Memoir/Non Fiction

Award in 2018. It went on to be republished by Jacana Books in South Africa, in July 2018, and by Ouida Books in Nigeria. In February 2018 they published ''Sista!'', an anthology of writings by same-gender-loving women of African/Caribbean descent with a UK connection, edited by Gordon, Beadle-Blair and UK Black Pride co-founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah; it included writers such as Yrsa Daley-Ward and was shortlisted for a 2019 Lambda Literary Award. In 2020, he and Beadle-Blair contracted the gay African-American author Larry Duplechan to write a memoir of his love of film, ''Movies That Made Me Gay'': it was published October 2, 2023.

''Black and Gay in the UK: an anthology''

Published on 20 October 2014, ''Black and Gay in the UK'' was co-edited with

for their Team Angelica imprint. Its 352 pages of poems, memoirs, fictional stories and essays exploring the lives of black gay men with some connection to the United Kingdom includes writers, artists and activists such as Leee John, Travis Alabanza, Dean Atta, Adam Lowe,

David McAlmont David Irving McAlmont (born 2 May 1967) is an English vocalist, essayist and art historian. He came to prominence in the 1990s as a singer, particularly through his collaboration with Bernard Butler. In the 2010s he returned to academia, workin ...

, Bisi Alimi, black British photographer Robert Taylor, Topher Campbell and Jide Macaulay.

Other work

In 2009 he co-wrote the screenplay for the short film ''Manali Cream'' (dir. Navdeep Kandola). In summer 2009 his one-act play ''Afro-Pik - a play about Black Man Hair'', featuring Fisayo Akintunde was premiered at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

summer school. In summer 2010 his short play ''Work!'' premiered at

Theatre503 Theatre503 is a theatre based at 503 Battersea Park Road in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth, above The Latchmere pub. The venue is known for promoting the work of new writers. History The theatre was founded in 1982 as the La ...

as part of Golden Delilah's production, "7:1 Beyond Control". Gordon was art designer on the feature films '' Fit'', '' KickOff'', '' Bashment'', and the hour-long film ''Free'' (2014) (all Team Angelica productions). 2012–017 Gordon and Beadle-Blair co-mentored ''Angelic Tales'' at the

Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford East (formerly known as Theatre Royal Stratford East) is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with di ...

, a lengthy development project for new writers culminating in two-week-long seasons of staged readings on the theatre's main stage. Several of the plays they developed, such as Somalia Seaton's ''Crowning Glory'' (2013), Lynette Linton's ''Step'' (2013) and Alexis Gregory's ''Slap'' (2018) have gone on to full productions and/or tours. In 2017 he dramaturged Linton's exploration of mixed race British identity, ''Lightie'', which played to sold-out audiences at the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalston, houses two studio ...

; the playtext was published by Team Angelica, as was the playtext of ''Slap''. Gordon was script consultant and associate producer on

's feature film ''Blackbird'' (2014) – a Tall Skinny Black Boy/Hicks Media co-production, written by

and Polk, adapted from Larry Duplechan's novel of that name, and starring

Mo'Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known mononymously as Mo'Nique, is an American comedian and actress. She debuted as a member of The Queens of Comedy and earned recognition as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. In 2 ...

and Isiah Washington.

''Faggamuffin'' (novel)

Gordon's fourth novel, ''Faggamuffin'', was published in 2012. It is about a gay Jamaican reggae producer - Cutty, a character who first appeared in ''The Melting Pot'' - on the run from the authorities.Hazelann Williams
"The plight of a 'faggamuffin'"
'' The Voice'', 3/ February 2012. On 3 November 2015 a theatrical version of ''Faggamuffin'', directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair and starring

Nathan Clough Nathan or Natan may refer to: People and biblical figures *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), a biblical figur ...

Marlon Kameka Marlon is a masculine given name. According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', the popularity of Marlon Brando led to general awareness of the name (his father was also named Marlon), though the origin of the name is not known. Speculatio ...

and Savannah Rae, was presented at the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

as part of the ''Gay Buddies Week''. The novel inspired the formation in 2020 of the queer carnival activist group Faggamuffin Bloc Party.

''Souljah'' (novel)

On 22 September 2014 Gordon's sixth novel, ''Souljah'', was published by Team Angelica. It's an extrapolation of characters and situations first presented in the award-winning short film of the same name. It was favourably reviewed by ka-os.blogspot.com: "this is a story that deserves everyone's attention. Souljah is truly breathtaking, in scale, and in ambition. I cried like a baby at times, and as events rapidly escalated in the novel's final act, I just couldn't put it down" and in the Huffington Post: "...a novel that defies categorization. It's a mashup of the immigrant saga, a chilling gangster thriller, a state-of-the-nation novel, a coming-of-age story and an intimate family portrait with a harrowing war crime at its heart. The fact that Gordon never once drops the ball makes Souljah a sprawling, visually arresting masterpiece." On 4 March 2015 it was shortlisted for a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

Yemi and Femi

Yemi and Femi are cartoon characters created by Gordon ('my lil' nephews'), British-Nigerian gay teen clubkid best friends, who first appeared in the graphic novella ''Yemi & Femi's Fun Night Out''. Published in September 2015, it is a 42-page black-and-white graphic novella about Yemi and Femi and Femi's boyfriend Mixtape, and their adventures one night after being thrown out of a nightclub. The graphic novella explores issues around HIV, safe sex,

PEP Pep is energy or high spirits; it may refer to: * Pep band, an ensemble of instrumentalists * Pep (dog) (c. 1923–1930), Labrador Retriever sent to the Eastern State Penitentiary * Pep, the dog in Putt-Putt (series), ''Putt-Putt'' (series) * Pep ...

(post-exposure prophylaxis),

PrEP PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP) was a standard system architecture for PowerPC-based computer systems (as well as a reference implementation) developed at the same time as the PowerPC processor architecture. Published by IBM in 1994, it allow ...

(pre-exposure prophylaxis) and sero-discordancy in a comical way, in street-level language and urban slang. Gordon received an

Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

grant to make copies available free to gay urban young people and sexual health charities. On 28 April 2016 Gordon's short HIV-themed comedy play ''Yemi and Femi go da Chemist'' was premiered at Team Angelica's ''Boom!'' event as part of the ''AmBush'' at London's highly respected

, to an enthusiastic response from the sold-out audience. He and Beadle-Blair co-dramaturged the event, which showcased thirty-eight writers over two nights. The text of the play was included in the Team Angelica anthology, ''Black and Gay in the UK''. On May 9, 2023 Gordon's one-act play, ''Yemi & Femi Go Windrush'', which sees the titular characters go back in time and encounter a gay Caribbean couple having a secret affair in 1950s Notting Hill, was presented as a staged reading as part of Tom Ratcliffe's Platform festival at the

King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. The original venue was the oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2024, the pub theatre, and the King's Head Theatre now operates from a purpose-b ...

, dir. Rikki Beadle-Blair.

''Drapetomania'' (novel)

Published in May 2018, ''Drapetomania'' is a 500-page novel set in the American South. Ten years in the writing, it is an epic tale of black freedom, uprising, and a radical representation of romantic love between black men in slavery times.

has called it 'an all-out masterpiece';

Michael Eric Dyson Michael Eric Dyson (born October 23, 1958) is an American academic, author, Baptist minister, and radio host. He is a professor in the College of Arts and Science and in the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. Described by Michael A. Fletche ...

has haled it as 'a dazzling work of imagination'; and

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde ( ; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, professor, philosopher, Intersectional feminism, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "Bl ...

biographer

Alexis De Veaux Alexis De Veaux (sometimes as Alexis DeVeaux) (born 1948) is an American writer and illustrator. She chaired the Department of Women's Studies, at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Biography De Veaux was born in Harlem on September 2 ...

described it as 'a riveting, masterful work'. It was favourably reviewed in the London

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

, which said it was 'a damning indictment of America's racist history... often deeply moving and gripping'. On 25 April 2019 it won the

Publishing Triangle The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards prog ...

's prestigious

Ferro-Grumley Award The Ferro-Grumley Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle and the Ferro-Grumley Foundation to a book deemed the year's best work of LGBT fiction. The award is presented in memory of writers Robert Ferro and Michael Gru ...

for best LGBTQ fiction.

''Hark'' (novel)

''Hark'', pub Sept 2020, is a gay teen interracial romance set in a present-day extrapolation of the

Southern Gothic Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of Gothic fiction, fiction, Popular music, music, Gothic film, film, theatre, and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic fiction, Gothic elements and the Southern United States, American South. ...

landscape of ''Drapetomania''. It contains a supernatural element exploring American's racially haunted past, and the turning of

lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...

photographs into postcards as souvenirs. Award-winning black gay fantasy writer

Craig Laurance Gidney Craig L. Gidney is an American speculative fiction novelist and short story writer. He is openly gay. His works are known for mixing genres, containing elements of horror, fantasy, folklore, and magical realism. The collection ''Sea, Swallow M ...

called it 'audaciously provocative, sexy and spooky all at once. And very much of the zeitgeist'; ''Blackbird'' author Larry Duplechan described it as 'a welcome addition to the tradition.' It was listed as a Book of the Year by

Books for Keeps ''Books for Keeps'' is a British online magazine covering children's books.Theatro Technis on 19 April) and a raucous 17-minute short film, ''Curious'' - both directed by

, about a closeted rapper's quest for self-expression and liberation, also starring Dior Clarke and Curtis Brown. ''Scooters, Shooters & Shottas: a Curious tale'' was a finalist for the 2024 Tinniswood Award.

Published works

*''Black Butterflies'' (GMP 1993), winner of a New London Writer's Award in 1994 *''Skin Deep'' (GMP 1997) *"Immigrant" (short story) in ''New Century, New Writing'' (ed. P P Hartnett, Millivres-Prowler 2000) *''Warriors & Outlaws'' (Millivres/Prowler 2001). *''My Life in Porn: The Bobby Blake Story'' (

Perseus Books Perseus Books Group was an American publishing company founded in year 1996 by investor Frank Pearl. Perseus acquired the trade publishing division of Addison-Wesley (including the Merloyd Lawrence imprint) in 1997. In 2005, Perseus acquired ...

2008, cowritten with

Bobby Blake Bobby Blake (born Edgar Gaines; August 11, 1957) is a Baptist elder who acted in gay pornography until his retirement in 2000. Biography Blake appeared in over 100 releases.. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. Bobby Blake was a long time partner with ...

) *''Faggamuffin'' (Team Angelica Publishing, January 2012) *"The Bridge" (short story) in ''Scarf'' magazine (June 2012) *''Colour Scheme'' (Team Angelica Publishing, January 2013) *''Souljah'' (Team Angelica Publishing, September 2014),

Award finalist 2015 *''Black and Gay in the UK: an anthology'' (Team Angelica Publishing, October 2014) (co-editor, with

, and contributor) *''Yemi & Femi's Fun Night Out: a graphic novella'' (Team Angelica Publishing, September 2015) *"The Parasite That Grew Bigger Than The Animal" (short story) in ''Speak My Language'' (ed. Torsten Hojer, Robinson Books, November 2015) *''Drapetomania, or the Narrative of Cyrus Tyler & Abednego Tyler, lovers'' (Team Angelica Publishing, May 2018), winner

2019; Lambda finalist *''Hark'' (Team Angelica Publishing, Sept 2020), Polari Prize longlisted *''Mother of Serpents'' (Team Angelica Publishing, February 2025)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, John R 1964 births Living people English screenwriters English male screenwriters People from Shepherd's Bush English gay writers English LGBTQ novelists English male novelists