Dean Atta - Big Man in conversation
Picnic Coffee, Bath, BA1 5BR
Monday 23rd November 2026 7:00PM
Join BAFTA winning & best selling author Dean Atta with his latest novel 'Big Man'
In conversation with Manganaro
BIG MAN is his adult debut, a tender and daring story about queer love, trauma, and aging.
Dean Atta is a multi-award-winning author, poet, and BAFTA-winning and BIFA-nominated filmmaker. His books include the young adult novel The Black Flamingo (winner of the Stonewall Book Award), the memoir Person Unlimited: An Ode to My Black Queer Body, and poetry collections I Am Nobody’s Nigger and There is (still) love here. His poetry has featured on the BBC, BET, Channel 4, and MTV
BIG MAN follows the life of Big, a middle-aged, Black British gay man who lives a gentle life with his boyfriend, Little, in their home in East London. Big and Little enjoy evenings out and group holidays with friends, as much as practising yoga together at home, and running side by side along the Hackney canals.
Big came of age in the club scene under the watchful eye of Mother, an African American trans woman who made a home and a name for herself in London, her house a refuge for wayward queer youth like Big. When he finds out Mother is releasing a memoir, the two reconnect after decades of distance, and Big finds himself having to confront a long-repressed assault that opens old – and new – wounds.
A tender, daring novel full of gentle humour, BIG MAN explores themes of identity, aging, sex, family, and trauma, turning a lens on what
it means to age as a queer person, while being a double-edged love letter to the people and places that make us.
'Original and beautifully written' - Harry Lighton, director of Pillion
Manganaro is a poet, performer, and event organiser, who's writing explores themes of identity, bilingual experience, and everyday nuances, drawing on the personal side of political. They were a 2025 Queer Bath award recipient, the 2024 DIVA Magazine Lesbian Visibility Week poetry competition winner, a two-time finalist for the 2026 Creative Bath Awards, and have supported artists such as Alice Oswald and Max Porter. Their work has been featured on BBC upload, in exhibitions as part of Fringe Arts Bath, longlisted for the 2025 "Interwoven" poetry competition by Renard Press, and have performed in major venues across the UK. During their residency at Emerge, Manganaro explored the radical history uniting zines and writing.
Manganaro studied Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, achieving a First-Class Bachelor of Arts with Honours, spending their placement
year travelling across the UK engaging with various arts projects and festivals.
They are passionate about uplifting the local grassroots creative community; working in events and festivals across Bath and Bristol, and co-founded Bath’s leading poetry open mic night "Chimes."
Books will be supplied by Mr B's
Drinks & Cakes will be available in our venue, Picnic Coffee
In conversation with Manganaro
BIG MAN is his adult debut, a tender and daring story about queer love, trauma, and aging.
Dean Atta is a multi-award-winning author, poet, and BAFTA-winning and BIFA-nominated filmmaker. His books include the young adult novel The Black Flamingo (winner of the Stonewall Book Award), the memoir Person Unlimited: An Ode to My Black Queer Body, and poetry collections I Am Nobody’s Nigger and There is (still) love here. His poetry has featured on the BBC, BET, Channel 4, and MTV
BIG MAN follows the life of Big, a middle-aged, Black British gay man who lives a gentle life with his boyfriend, Little, in their home in East London. Big and Little enjoy evenings out and group holidays with friends, as much as practising yoga together at home, and running side by side along the Hackney canals.
Big came of age in the club scene under the watchful eye of Mother, an African American trans woman who made a home and a name for herself in London, her house a refuge for wayward queer youth like Big. When he finds out Mother is releasing a memoir, the two reconnect after decades of distance, and Big finds himself having to confront a long-repressed assault that opens old – and new – wounds.
A tender, daring novel full of gentle humour, BIG MAN explores themes of identity, aging, sex, family, and trauma, turning a lens on what
it means to age as a queer person, while being a double-edged love letter to the people and places that make us.
'Original and beautifully written' - Harry Lighton, director of Pillion
Manganaro is a poet, performer, and event organiser, who's writing explores themes of identity, bilingual experience, and everyday nuances, drawing on the personal side of political. They were a 2025 Queer Bath award recipient, the 2024 DIVA Magazine Lesbian Visibility Week poetry competition winner, a two-time finalist for the 2026 Creative Bath Awards, and have supported artists such as Alice Oswald and Max Porter. Their work has been featured on BBC upload, in exhibitions as part of Fringe Arts Bath, longlisted for the 2025 "Interwoven" poetry competition by Renard Press, and have performed in major venues across the UK. During their residency at Emerge, Manganaro explored the radical history uniting zines and writing.
Manganaro studied Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, achieving a First-Class Bachelor of Arts with Honours, spending their placement
year travelling across the UK engaging with various arts projects and festivals.
They are passionate about uplifting the local grassroots creative community; working in events and festivals across Bath and Bristol, and co-founded Bath’s leading poetry open mic night "Chimes."
Books will be supplied by Mr B's
Drinks & Cakes will be available in our venue, Picnic Coffee
Event Details
Doors Open at 6:30PM
From 7:00PM to 8:00PM
