Isolationcast #13: Brit Bennett on becoming a New York Times bestseller in lockdown, #publishingpaidme and the problem with expecting black authors to answer questions about race

Two twin sisters, one trauma, two very different paths. One night, Stella and Desiree witnesses the lynching of their father by a group of white men. The night sets them on dramatically different paths, with Stella constructing a new identity and “passing” as white. This is the premise behind The Vanishing Half, the phenomenal second book by the California-born, New York-based author Brit Bennett. Already a number one New York Times bestseller, it is a fascinating exploration of trauma and race as a construct - but one which carries enormous real-life significance. It's Brit's second novel; her debut, The Mothers, was also a New York Times bestseller. And she is an acclaimed essayist, who has written for the likes of The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, and Jezebel. I was so excited to talk to Brit. Of course, when she wrote her book she could not have imagined how timely some of the themes would be, amidst the global outrage at the death of George Floyd. Neither could she have imagined that it would be published in the middle of a pandemic. We discussed both of these, as well as her writing process, path to publication - and the problem with black authors automatically being expected to answer questions about race. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Twitter: @aliceazania / @britrbennett Instagram: @aliceazania / @britrbennett Buy the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanishing-Half-bestselling-author-Mothers-ebook/dp/B082KH5D4M Edited by Chelsey Moore