A Great Day is a photograph: a celebration of the contemporary British canon through a gathering of its brightest stars - a focus on African, Caribbean and Asian achievement in Britain over three generations - a bringing together of a myriad of perspectives and artistic sensibilities (including poetry, prose, playwrighting, live art, publishing and cultural activism) through the unifying genre of literature.    The focus of the day was to bring together key exponents of contemporary British literature scene who are of African, Caribbean, and Asian origin, as a way to tribute and mark the impact of diverse communities on Britain.  A Great Day is not a definitive list, rather a snapshot in time and a celebratory gathering.   A Great Day was a collaboration between decibel, renaissanceone and The British Library.   Move your mouse around the photograph to see who took part.   Marking the contribution of outstanding writers of African, Asian and Caribbean descent Why stage a photoshoot? The idea came about from a wish to bring together writers in one space, to create a vivid defining moment through a celebratory photo. It is loosely inspired by A Great Day in Harlem (www.harlem.org). Who took the photograph? The photographer is Manuel Vason who has worked widely in fashion and live art photography. How were the writers invited? The list of writers and movers and shakers was compiled by an advisory panel working across publishing, academia, critical theory, journalism and promotion and included the British Library, Wasafiri, Arts Council England, Colman Getty, writer/academic John McLeod, journalist Kevin Le Gendre and the originator of A Great Day, Melanie Abrahams. The panel worked from a wish list of 80 names and a criteria of writers/movers and shakers who had directly impacted on or influenced the contemporary British canon, or had significantly contributed to the British writing scene. Each initial suggestion had to be supported by the majority of the panel. The ultimate aim was for a photo featuring a total of 50. A photoshoot of 50 outstanding writers and creatives was felt to be, in a fashion of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’, ‘just right’ and a strong visual statement. What took place on the day? In addition to outstanding literary figures the panel wished to include pioneers - movers and shakers who had supported writers over the decades or had fostered contemporary writing scene beyond their own practice - such as John La-Rose, the founder of New Beacon Books and the Third World Radical Book Fair, Pearl Connor the first black literary agent in the UK, Shaun Levin the creator and editor of the ground-breaking publication 'Chroma' and critical and cultural theorist/author Stuart Hall. Unfortunately not all those invited could make it. However, the day was special in terms of the sheer number of creative people present who would not have occasion to gather in one place. The movers and shakers present included Ravinder Randawa, founder of the Asian Women Writers Collective who pioneered the writing of many authors in addition to forging a writing career, Dotun Adebayo and Steve Pope, who founded The XPress and Margaret Busby who co-founded Allison & Busby and has spearheaded many publishing initiatives, to name but a few. Highlights included the presence of writers currently based overseas such as Fred D’Auguiar and Gary Younge and a special poetry performance by James Berry, who was celebrating his 80th birthday, The official photo has been presented to the British Library and Arts Council England as an archive. It is decibel and renaissance one’s aim that the picture will document a defining moment in contemporary literature. site created by specimin