STEVE POPE
Editor • Publisher • Journalist
Steve Pope is a pioneering Black British editor, journalist and publisher whose career helped create opportunities for Black writers and stories often overlooked by mainstream media.
Image credit: Sharron Wallace for Museum of Colour
As Editor of The Voice, Britain’s leading Black newspaper, he helped document and shape an emerging Black British cultural identity. Steve later co-founded The X Press with journalist Dotun Adebayo. They published contemporary Black British writing and helping new voices reach wider audiences. Its breakthrough titles included Victor Headley’s bestselling novel Yardie.
Why Hackney Matters
Steve’s publishing story is closely connected to Hackney. The Voice began in Mare Street, while The X Press was established in Hoxton Square. Steve also lived on Mabley Street in Homerton while editing The Voice. In 2013, he returned to Dalston’s CLR James Library for Hackney Black History Month, taking part in The State of Black British Publishing, a discussion about nurturing Black writers and the future of Black publishing.
Did You Know?
Before becoming a publisher, Steve spotted the potential in Tayo Fatunla’s Black history illustrations and invited him to The Voice. They developed into Our Roots, a popular series using cartoons to introduce readers to remarkable people and events from Black history.