Charlotte Carter books brought back to life by Bristol artist

A black artist says she was "honoured" to be asked to illustrate a series of re-issued novels by a black writer.

Lucy Turner, from Bristol, was commissioned to create new covers for books by Charlotte Carter.

Jade Chandler, from publishers Baskerville, said black authors writing about black women are "still vanishingly rare".

"It's incredibly important to me to represent black people," said Ms Turner.

First released in the late 1990s and 2000, the series, featuring mystery-solving musician Nanette Hayes, have been reissued by Baskerville in the UK.



"To be involved in this project - books written by a black woman, illustrated by a black woman - I think that's actually incredibly rare.

"I'm just so excited that's happened and I can represent the books, and maybe help the next generation discover Charlotte Carter."

'Lack of writers of colour'

Jade Chandler, publishing director at Baskerville, said crime books written by black women featuring black female leads are "vanishingly rare."

"This trilogy was originally published in the 1990s, but has been out of print for years, so we are delighted to reissue them," she said.


"We count ourselves lucky that Lucy has brought Nanette back to life with her stunning illustrations - the response to the book covers has been brilliant.

"This series was a landmark publication in a genre which is still - even now - seriously lacking in books by writers of colour.

"It feels important Nanette is back and available to readers once more.

"Alongside contemporary crime and thriller writers including Attica Locke, Dorothy Koomson and Nadine Matheson, I hope the books might play a part in inspiring a future generation of aspiring writers to create stories."

Ms Turner said seeing her covers in Waterstones in Bristol was "almost indescribable".

"It is such an amazing feeling. I felt so proud to see my work, and to represent someone like Charlotte Carter and take her stories forward."