About

Louisa Adjoa Parker

Louisa is a British writer and poet of Ghanaian and English heritage who lives in Southwest England. Her first poetry collection, Salt-sweat and Tears, and pamphlet were published by Cinnamon Press, and her third collection, How to wear a skin, was published by Indigo Dreams in 2019. Her debut short story collection, Stay with me was published in 2020 by Colenso Books. Her poetry pamphlet, She can still sing, was published in 2021 by Flipped Eye.

She began writing to talk about the racism and domestic violence she experienced when she was young, and is passionate about telling the stories of marginalised voices as well as making literature accessible to everyone. She believes that the arts are a powerful tool for personal and societal change. Her work explores themes including rural racism, identity, home, place, nature, gender, motherhood, grief and violence. 

Louisa’s work has appeared in a wide range of journals and anthologies including Envoi; Wasafiri; Acumen; Under the Radar; Out of Bounds (Bloodaxe); Ink, Sweat and Tears; Filigree and Closure (Peepal Tree Press); and New Daughters of Africa (Myriad). She has been highly commended by the Forward Prize; twice shortlisted by the Bridport Prize; and commended by the National Poetry Competition 2019 for her grief poem, Kindness. In 2023 she was awarded the US Virginia Faulkner Award for Excellence in Writing, for her story ‘Into the woods’, published in Prairie Schooner.

Louisa has delivered writing workshops in schools, prisons, universities, colleges, libraries and other community settings. She has taught for the Arvon Foundation, and has held several writing residencies including for Lit Up! and Quay Words, where she was the first ever writer-in-residence at the Customs House in Exeter.

Louisa has written books and exhibitions exploring Black, Asian and ethnically diverse history in the south west. She has also written articles for Gal-dem; The Wellcome Trust; and Media Diversified amongst others. She set up the Where are you really from? project which tells stories of Black and brown rural lives.

Louisa also writes and speaks about mental health, and how hers was impacted by belonging to intersecting marginalised groups. In 2019 she delivered mental health and writing workshops at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, and has co-delivered mental health training at the University of Bristol.

Louisa is writing a coastal memoir (an extension of her essay, At the water’s edge) which will published by Little Toller Books.

As well as writing, she works as an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) consultant, and is co-founder of The Inclusion Agency (TIA), which she runs with Louise Boston-Mammah. TIA provides EDI consultancy to a range of organisations as well as delivering diverse arts and heritage projects in the south west.

Read about Louisa’s latest commission for the national Nature Calling programme, and read her piece about Dorset National Landscape, This patch of land.

Check out this poetry film, Under a turquoise sky, by Folio Theatre.

Watch Louisa’s poetry film, Dear White West Country People, here.

Follow Louisa on Instagram: @ouisaadjoaparker