{{Short description|British poet}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Dean Atta''' is a British poet of Greek Cypriot and Caribbean descent. He has been listed by ''The Independent'' newspaper as one of the 100 most influential LGBT people in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/the-ios-pink-list-2012-8216187.html|title=The IoS Pink List 2012|website=Independent.co.uk|date=4 November 2012 |publisher=}}</ref> In 2012, his poem "I Am Nobody's Nigger", written in response to the use of the racial slur by the murderers of Stephen Lawrence, achieved much social media coverage, and he was profiled in ''The Guardian''.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jan/11/dean-atta-stephen-lawrence-poem|title=Dean Atta: meet the iPhone poet|first=Stephen|last=Isaac-Wilson|date=11 January 2012|website=The Guardian}}</ref>
Born to a Greek Cypriot mother and Jamaican father, he earned a BA degree (2006) in Philosophy and English from the University of Sussex, where he was president of the African Caribbean Society.<ref name=Guardian /><ref>[https://www.sussex.ac.uk/alumni/people/spotlighton/dean-atta "Dean Atta"], Spotlight on: alumni stories, University of Sussex.</ref> His poetry, which often deals with questions of identity and social justice,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/standupmag/poetry-provides-optimism-in-conversation-with-rising-talent-dean-atta-on-the-power-of-spoken-word-d02c568ef904|title=Poetry provides optimism|first=Stephanie|last=Farnsworth|date=22 April 2017|publisher=}}</ref> has been featured on BBC Radio 4, and he has been commissioned to write for museums and galleries including the Keats House Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, London, Tate Britain and Tate Modern.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wasafiri.org/person/dean-atta/|title=Dean Atta - Wasafiri Magazine|publisher=|access-date=2018-09-25|archive-date=2018-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925220101/https://www.wasafiri.org/person/dean-atta/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2018, Atta served as a judge for the BBC Young Writers Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4PrGlh3csfFgrgdw43K698Q/the-bbc-young-writers-award-2018-winner-announced|title=BBC - The BBC Young Writers' Award 2018 – Listen to the shortlist|website=BBC}}</ref>
In 2019 Atta's verse novel, ''The Black Flamingo'', was published by Hachette UK. For ''The Black Flamingo'', Atta was one of two winners of the Stonewall Book Award 2020 in the Children's and Young Adults category.<ref>{{Cite news|last=HCHO|date=27 January 2020|title='When Aidan Became a Brother' and 'The Black Flamingo' win 2020 Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award|url=http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2020/01/when-aidan-became-brother-and-black-flamingo-win-2020-stonewall-children-s|access-date=13 June 2020|website=News and Press Center|language=en}}</ref> The book was praised by the author Malorie Blackman.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dean Atta |url=https://societyofauthors.org/soa-member/dean-atta/ |website=The Society of Authors |access-date=15 September 2025}}</ref> His poem "I Come From" was adapted into a film by afshan d'souza-lodhi.<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Interview With Afshan D’Souza-Lodhi |url=https://www.voicemag.uk/interview/7770/an-interview-with-afshan-d-souza-lodhi |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=Voice Magazine |language=en-gb}}</ref>
In 2024, Atta was the runner up in the Caterpillar Poetry Prize.<ref>{{cite web |title=Previous Winners of the Caterpillar Poetry Prize |url=https://www.thecaterpillarmagazine.com/a1-page.asp?ID=4640&page=18 |publisher=The Caterpillar Magazine}}</ref>
In 2025, Atta's short film 'Two Black Boys in Paradise' was nominated for several major awards.<ref>{{cite web |title=Two Black Boys in Paradise nominated for major award as executive producer reveals JADE, Billy Porter and Joanna Lumley are fans (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://www.attitude.co.uk/culture/two-black-boys-paradise-nominated-award-executive-producer-502697/ |publisher=Attitude Magazine |access-date=29 November 2025}}</ref>
==Books== *''I Am Nobody's Nigger'', Westborne Press, 2013 (shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize) *''The Black Flamingo'', Hachette UK, 2019 *''Only On The Weekends'', Hachette UK, 2022 *''There is (still) love here'', Nine Arches Press, 2022 *''Person Unlimited: An Ode to My Black Queer Body'', Canongate Books, 2024 *''Confetti'', Orchard Books, 2024 (illustrated by Alea Marley) *''I Can't Even Think Straight'', Quill Tree Books, 2025
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://sites.google.com/site/deanatta/home Official site]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Atta, Dean}} Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex Category:Black British writers Category:English people of Greek Cypriot descent Category:English people of Jamaican descent Category:English male poets Category:English gay writers Category:Black British LGBTQ people Category:Poets from London Category:Stonewall Book Award winners Category:21st-century English male writers Category:21st-century British LGBTQ people Category:English LGBTQ poets Category:21st-century English writers