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Paul Boakye

@paulboakye.net
603 followers 324 following 573 posts

Playwright and author exploring culture, memory and belonging. Making documentary and editorial films using AI-assisted production. Traveller. Occasional shower crooner.

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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 20h
I’ve signed you up for this, thank me later! 😊 www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/ser...
southbankcentre.co.uk
Service95 Book Club: Rewriting Male Tenderness | Southbank Centre
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 27/09/2026
‘Concerned about rising rates of infections and the potential for the epidemic to spread more widely through the Pacific, the Australian government announced a new $48 million funding package in August.’ www.npr.org/2026/09/26/g...
npr.org
Why this island paradise has the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemic
In mid-September, Fiji's government declared a national emergency because of a startling rise in HIV infections. The country's crystal meth epidemic is a strong contributing factor.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 26/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Let’s tell the truth’: Smithsonian head given standing ovation as he hits back at Trump attacks
Outgoing secretary Lonnie Bunch rejects claims the institution is unpatriotic, telling audience ‘You cannot understand all without illuminating the dark corners’
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 24/09/2026
What can one hidden HIV reservoir tell us about long-term natural control? 40 Years Undetectable explores elite controllers, intact and defective proviruses, reservoir decay and the search for a functional cure. Watch: youtu.be/C1vTHUw9ldg @iasociety.bsky.social #HIVsky
youtu.be
What We Can Learn From the 40-Year HIV Elite Controller
YouTube video by QUEER ATLAS
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 23/09/2026
This is much more substantial than most playwriting competitions. The combination of £10,000, a guaranteed production and Methuen publication could relaunch an established playwright as readily as introduce a new one. societyofauthors.org/prizes/exter...
societyofauthors.org
The Windrush Prize for British Caribbean Playwrights - The Society of Authors
Encouraging the next generation of playwrights from the Caribbean diaspora to tell the stories of their community in their way.
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The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 23/09/2026
Former winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart are among the six authors shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize, alongside returning nominee Elizabeth Strout and first-time shortlistees M John Harrison, Luke Kennard and Rebecca Perry. 👇
ebx.sh
Booker Prize shortlist 2026 features Marlon James, Douglas Stuart and Elizabeth Strout
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 22/09/2026
Late-night crew — where are you playing this one? Drop your city + who you're slow dancing with. 😉 #loversrock #reggae #loversrockreggae #rocksteady
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 17/09/2026
You know you're getting on when the people you know are frequently leaving out to meet the ancestors. RIP, Bonnie.
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Twainian @twainian.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
“All good art is political! There is none that isn’t. And the ones that try hard not to be political are political by saying, ‘We love the status quo.’ We’ve just dirtied the word ‘politics,’ made it sound like it’s unpatriotic or something.” - Toni Morrison
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 13/09/2026
Calling all new writers! ✍️ The BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Competition is open. Submit an original script idea for a series, feature or short film. Apply by 16 Sept: bafta.org/programmes Please share with your community. Good luck!
bafta.org
Programmes - Bafta
Discover how BAFTA plays a major role in supporting the next generation of film, games and TV talent.
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Mark Anthony Neal (@NewBlackMan on X) @markanthonyneal.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
'On a research trip to Kingston for his newest novel, ‘The Disappearers,’ Marlon James reflects on how “to live in Jamaica is to confront history, which is all around you”.' www.cntraveler.com/story/how-a-...
cntraveler.com
How a Homecoming to Jamaica Helped Author Marlon James Write His Newest, Booker Prize-Nominated Novel
On a research trip to Kingston for his newest novel, ‘The Disappearers,’ Marlon James reflects on how “to live in Jamaica is to confront history, which is all around you.”
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Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This dog didn't recognize his owner, who was hospitalized for a long time, until he sniffed him. The owner lost weight and his appearance changed. This shows us how important the sense of smell is for animals in general and dogs in particular. Repost of @archivetw_: Original post
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 03/09/2026
Hey, loving you until dawn. RIP. “Let's get together for a midnight thrill, honey And everybody's in the house Nothing can stop us from feeling good tonight We've got a blue light 'til dawn.” youtu.be/NCPV7Boi4MI
youtu.be
Cassandra Wilson - Blue Light Til Dawn [12-13-94]
YouTube video by What's for afters?
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 01/09/2026
They got so much things to say.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 01/09/2026
Paul McVeigh West Cork Residency 2027 - Category: Funded writing residency - Deadline: 30 September 2026 - Value: Six-day residency near Glengariff, West Cork. Accommodation, standard travel, most meals. See you there? paulmcveighwriter.com/2025/10/17/t...
paulmcveighwriter.com
The Paul McVeigh West Cork Residency 2027
This residency will take place near Glengariff, West Cork, from Monday 25th January 2027 until Saturday 30th January 2027. The opportunity is for emerging writers of fiction and non-fiction aged 21…
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 01/09/2026
Marlon James’s new novel brings gay life and homophobia center stage, with psychological acuity and ragged lyricism. “Life pours from him,” Katy Walman writes, about James. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
“The Disappearers” Stages the Pain and Pleasure of Jamaican Gay Life
Marlon James’s new novel follows a group of gay men who seek love, connection, and restitution after a bloody homophobic attack.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 31/08/2026
“Money from Gambians abroad is keeping the country afloat. Last year, remittances from the diaspora through formal channels alone came to about €746 million, accounting for more than 30 per cent of the country’s GDP, according to local media.” www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
irishtimes.com
‘It was day 13 or 14 when people started dying’: More than 200 set sail for Europe. Only 36 survived
A harrowing story of death and survival on the Atlantic migration route from west Africa, ‘the deadliest in the world’
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Kathryn Delaney @kldelaney.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
just an US citizen asking my fellow citizens how much pain from stupid wars, cruel immigration policies, cruel poverty policies, cruel foreign aid policies, acts of betrayal against allies, and stupid economic policies it will take to say “No more” and make it count.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 21/08/2026
“The evidence is overwhelming: [LGBTQ+] criminalisation does not prevent HIV – it fuels it,” Immaculate Owomugisha Bazare, Director of the Centre for Women Justice, Uganda, at the 26th International AIDS Conference held in Rio de Janeiro. www.aidsmap.com/news/aug-202...
aidsmap.com
The scourge of LGBTQ criminalisation moving across African countries – and its impact on HIV
“The evidence is overwhelming: criminalisation does not prevent HIV – it fuels it,” Immaculate Owomugisha Bazare, Director of the Centre for Women Justice, Uganda, said in a plenary presentation at the 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) held in Rio de Janeiro recently.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 20/08/2026
More than 6,600 Americans applied for British citizenship in the year to March 2025, a roughly 30% increase on the previous year and the highest figure since Home Office records began in 2004. By March 2026, applications had reached 9,300, more than twice the 2022 figure when Biden was president.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 19/08/2026
To see the press coverage of Jason Arday laid out openly is shocking. They probably couldn't produce a similarly detailed examination showing the hounding of Meghan Markle or tracking the lies told by the fantasist in the White House, but this is a stark double standard. newscord.org/editorials/j...
newscord.org
Jason Arday told the press he was at his limit. It answered with 188 more articles. He is dead at 41.
A full census of the 249 articles fifteen national outlets published about Jason Arday in 22 days, with the last day reconstructed hour by hour. Every article listed and linked.
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
There’s an underlying assumption a lot of people are making that if a black guy successfully misleads you, it means you have set your racism levels too low.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 15/08/2026
That's all we need. 😳
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 15/08/2026
Compare Professor Jason Arday’s treatment to white academics on Retraction Watch’s UK list: Amatrudo, Holmes, Ruggiero, O’Reilly, etc. Their cases ran in the trade press, then vanished - no accusations followed them to the grave. We don’t have to wonder why. RIP. retractionwatch.com/category/uk-...
retractionwatch.com
uk retractions – Retraction Watch
Posts about uk retractions written by Ellie Kincaid, Adam Marcus, and Ivan Oransky
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💙🪄 Keep Rising 🪄💙 @keeprising.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
♥️💐 rest in power & paradise lovely soul 👑♥️💐🕊♥️🌿
Dr Gladys West, has died. She is the mathematician behind the creation of GPS
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 09/08/2026
writeonline.medium.com/i-went-to-my...
writeonline.medium.com
I Went to My First International AIDS Conference – and Still Felt Like an Outsider
After 40 years living with HIV, I travelled to Rio seeking connection, collaboration and a place in global cure research.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 08/08/2026
This annual award will support three emerging writers of African diaspora heritage, aged 18 and over, who are living in the UK. The award is designed to foster new talent, encourage bold storytelling, and amplify voices within theatre, film and literature. brixtonhouse.co.uk/submissions-...
brixtonhouse.co.uk
Submissions now open: Biyi Bándélé Award for Emerging Writers of the African Diaspora | Brixton House
We welcome applications from African diaspora writers of 18 years or older who have had at least one previous work published and/or publicly produced.
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Ambassador Ken Fairfax (ret) @portlandken.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Tales of everyday corruption. Pete Hegseth cancelled the $400,000 contract for making uniforms for the Blue Angels on the grounds that the contract with "The Sewing Box" was DEI since the firm is Black-owned. Instead, he awarded it to a Trump donor for $1,690,000, a 325% price increase!
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 02/08/2026
Barely-there swimwear is the norm in Brazil, and body shaming worries don’t seem to bother anyone. They learn to accept their bodies from childhood. That ease in the sun comes with a cost: skin cancer is the most common cancer there, with non-melanoma cases making up ~30% and melanoma about 1%.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 31/07/2026
My personal style signifier is a tam, something I’ve worn for decades. Many of you probably don’t know what that is, but the perfect tam is hard to source. I’ve bought them in countries I’ve travelled to over the years. I settle on one and wear it until I lose it. www.ft.com/content/fd4a...
ft.com
Ben Okri talks taste
The poet and novelist on Pushkin, berets and tarot cards
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 31/07/2026
They lure you with free coffee at the Gilead stand during the International AIDS Conference in Rio, Brazil. Smart ploy.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 28/07/2026
Activists storm the stage during the opening ceremony of #AIDS2026, shouting, “When people with AIDS are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back,” along with other slogans aimed at pharmaceuticals, ICE, Trump, and genocidal murder in Gaza. It was as animated as things got.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 27/07/2026
History teaches us that organised people eventually defeat organised money.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 27/07/2026
Rio de Janeiro - Parque Olímpico.
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Bob Walnut @bobwalnut.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Love this guy. You do, too. www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ju...
theguardian.com
Keith David on his incredible career: ‘I want you to understand Black men as full-scope human beings’
The hard-working character actor has over 400 screen credits, from The Thing to Platoon to Rick and Morty, and he isn’t slowing down any time soon
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 27/07/2026
“If this appointment marks the start of renewed British leadership on global climate and development, it will be warmly welcomed across Africa,” said Mohamed Adow, a director of Power Shift Africa, a thinktank. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
Ed Miliband indicates development and climate will be at heart of UK foreign policy
Exclusive: Foreign secretary to take up World Bank seat and play active role in shaping changes to global lender
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 21/07/2026
I’ll be at the International AIDS Conference next week, where the fallout from US HIV funding cuts will be impossible to ignore. How serious do you think this moment is? A short-term shock, or something with longer consequences? www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
Trump’s HIV funding cuts having ‘severe and devastating’ impact around the world
The President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief has saved 26m lives globally, but slashing of funds and dismantling of USAID have forced clinics to shut in dozens of countries
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 21/07/2026
Three annual UK awards — of £10,000, £5,000 and £2,500 — are available for authors engaged on their first commissioned works of non-fiction. rsliterature.org/rsl-giles-st...
rsliterature.org
RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction - Royal Society of Literature
RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction Three annual awards — of £10,000, £5,000 and £2,500 — are available for authors engaged on their first commissioned works of non-fiction. The RSL Giles St Aub...
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 21/07/2026
This award is for a creative non-fiction piece of up to 5,000 words on any subject. The contest is open in February and August. Value: $250 Reading period: 1-31 August 2026 Open for: All writers lunchticket.org/contests/dwm/
lunchticket.org
The Diana Woods Memorial Award - Lunch Ticket
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Rae Radford @raeradford.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Great advice... #BookSky
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 20/07/2026
LatinoLife UK lit up Walpole Park on Sunday 19th July. Music, movement, colour everywhere you looked. Loved it.
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Andy Heppelle🇺🇸🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦🇬🇱🇺🇳🏳️‍⚧️ @andyheppelle.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Worth another look - Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator youtu.be/J7GY1Xg6X20
youtu.be
Charlie Chaplin - Final Speech from The Great Dictator
YouTube video by Charlie Chaplin
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 15/07/2026
⚽ The England football team pisses me off. You’re 1-nil up. Go and get the second, the third. Don’t just sit back in your own half, defending. Where’s your attacking spirit? #WorldCup
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 14/07/2026
What a genius. Everything he touches falls apart. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
US refunds $81bn in Trump tariffs after supreme court ruled them illegal
Government had been forced to pay back duties to companies that imported goods into the US that were hit by Trump’s tariffs
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 12/07/2026
Hey, Jude: Cometh the hour, cometh the man.
Jude Bellingham single-handedly rescues England from the brink of defeat with two goals to keep the World Cup dream alive.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 11/07/2026
This is for the Paraguayan senator who racially abused Kylian Mbappe online. The Harry Kane moment made me laugh out loud. 🤣 #WorldCup
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 10/07/2026
🎭 Emerging playwrights 18–30: the Bill Cashmore Award is open. Two winning one-act plays will be professionally produced at the Lyric Hammersmith and Bristol Old Vic, with #writers receiving £4,078.47, dramaturgical support and rehearsal involvement. Apply by 25 August: lyric.co.uk/programmes/t...
lyric.co.uk
The Bill Cashmore Award - Lyric
Applications are now open for The Bill Cashmore Award, which offers a paid opportunity for two new one-act plays by writers aged 18-30, to be professionally produced at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre a...
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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum, implies during a press conference her government will take action after an ICE agent killed Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 08/07/2026
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
Celebrating the African diaspora: the photography of Armet Francis
Hackney-based visual arts charity Autograph has received entire photographic estate of Jamaican-British photographer Armet Francis – a major gift that brings more than 70,000 images into their permane...
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Paul Boakye @paulboakye.net · 07/07/2026
Prayers do come true. So glad to wake up to a 4–1 win for Belgium. I suppose the USA will now want to start a war with them or threaten tariffs over Belgium whooping the USA at football without cheating. #WorldCup2026 #Football #FIFA #Belgium #USA #InternationalFootball
Belgian footballers celebrate a 4-1 win over the USA in the final sixteen knockouts.
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