# Dean Atta

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{{Short description|British poet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Dean Atta''' is a British poet of [Greek Cypriot](/source/Greek_Cypriot) and Caribbean descent. He has been listed by ''The Independent'' newspaper as one of the 100 most influential [LGBT](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Murder_of_Stephen_Lawrence), achieved much social media coverage, and he was profiled in ''[The Guardian](/source/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](/source/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](/source/BBC_Radio_4), and he has been commissioned to write for museums and galleries including the [Keats House Museum](/source/Keats_House_Museum), the [National Portrait Gallery, London](/source/National_Portrait_Gallery%2C_London), [Tate Britain](/source/Tate_Britain) and [Tate Modern](/source/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](/source/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](/source/verse_novel), ''The Black Flamingo'', was published by [Hachette UK](/source/Hachette_UK). For ''The Black Flamingo'', Atta was one of two winners of the [Stonewall Book Award](/source/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](/source/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](/source/afshan_d'souza-lodhi).<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Interview With Afshan D&rsquo;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] 

{{Authority control}}

{{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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dean Atta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Atta) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Atta?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.