Stephen Bourne is a historian who specialises in Black heritage and gay culture. His best-known book is Black Poppies – Britain’s Black Community and the Great War which was first published by The History Press in 2014 to coincide with the centenary of World War One. For Black Poppies, Stephen received the Southwark Arts Literature award. In October 2019 the Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo voted Bourne her Black History Month hero. Bernardine said: ‘Stephen Bourne is a hero of our history, who has published countless books, always accessible to all, on the hidden stories of our presence on these shores. Let’s honour Stephen for quietly shining a light on our history.’
Stephen has also written about gay men’s lives in Fighting Proud (2017) and Playing Gay in the Golden Age of British TV (2019). In 2020 Stephen’s acclaimed Under Fire – Black Britain in Wartime 1939-1945 was published by The History Press. Stephen contributes to many journals including Britain at War, The Historian and The Voice. His most recent television and radio appearances have included Front Row, Last Word, Four Thought, Great Lives and History’s Secret Heroes (all Radio 4), BBC1’s The One Show Black History Month special in 2020 and Channel 5’s TV’s Greatest – Black on the Box (2024).
The acclaimed writer Russell T Davies (Queer as Folk, It’s a Sin, Doctor Who) describes Stephen as ‘one of the soldiers, gatekeepers and champions of our community. I am in awe of his diligence and insight.’ The celebrated playwright and critic Bonnie Greer says: ‘Stephen brings great natural scholarship and passion to a largely hidden story. He is highly accessible, accurate and surprising. You always walk away from his work knowing something that you didn’t know, that you didn’t even expect.’
