We have some exciting news! Brittle Paper has a new series launching this month by Mercy Eni, called Mercy in Manchester: Diasporic Diaries.

Starting tomorrow, Brittle Paper will be publishing a new instalment of Mercy in Manchester every Saturday morning. The series explores Kenyan Mercy Eni as she navigates her new life in Manchester, UK. The series has some deep truths, lots of humour, and a fantastic weaving of tales about what it is like as an African abroad.

Mercy is an incredibly talented writer, and we are excited to launch this new series with her! So, for those who don’t already know her, let us introduce you to the brilliant Mercy Eni, and hopefully this will make you all the more excited for the weekly instalments of Mercy in Manchester!

 

                                                                                                                                                         Brittle Paper

Mercy, we have some exciting news for our readers, thanks to you! Your new series, “Mercy in Manchester: Diasporic Diaries,” will be launching this month. We have a lot to chat about, but first, let’s introduce you to our readers who may not have already encountered your brilliant writing.

When did you first become interested in writing?

Mercy Eni

I started writing almost without thinking about it, scribbling poems and short essays in school, mostly because I was completely obsessed with English Literature. I loved picking apart stylistic devices, seeing how words could stretch and twist into something out of this world. One poem stuck with me from primary school “Freedom Song” by Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye. For the longest time, I was convinced she was Kenyan, so finding out she was actually white genuinely shifted something in my 13-year-old brain.

Books were everywhere at home. My dad was a scholar, my mum taught English Lit so our shelves were packed with African literature. I was always chasing new words, trying to understand how they worked, how they felt. Then, somewhere along the way, I stopped writing. Life took over, and nearly a decade passed without it. When I was 27, my parents handed me a collection of my old scribblings they’d quietly kept all those years. Reading them felt like meeting a younger version of myself I’d forgotten. That was the moment I picked it back up again, just scribbling, like I used to.

Brittle Paper

Your parents kept all those scribbles? That must be one of the most beautiful gifts to receive! And thank god they did!

I usually have a few set questions I always ask in interviews, because it’s a nice way for readers to get to know you better. So, before we talk about the series, hopefully you can humour me and answer three questions about your literary and artistic loves.

First up, what is the first book you remember loving?

Mercy Eni

The first book I remember truly loving was Coming to Birth. It was my secondary school set book so I read it countless times but it never felt like a chore. If anything, each reread made me notice something new. Looking back, it makes perfect sense. The protagonist, Paulina, is a woman who gradually comes into herself, and I think that journey stayed with me more than I realised at the time. It also feels full circle that it was written by Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, whose work had already left such a strong impression on me years earlier.

Brittle Paper

You know, this ties into my next question because I haven’t actually heard of Coming to Birth.

Is there a book you wish you could make everyone in the world read?

Mercy Eni

Sorry, but I’m going to shout out two because we should all be reading more. I’d make everyone read Loud Black Girls and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Loud Black Girls is unapologetic. It’s full of voices that take up space, that refuse to be quiet or reduced. There’s something grounding about that kind of honesty – it reminds you how important it is to own your story, loudly and fully.

And The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo stayed with me because of reinvention. If you’re not reinventing, you’re dying and Evelyn keeps reshaping herself to survive, to succeed, to love. It’s messy and complicated and funny, but it makes you think about how many versions of ourselves we’re allowed to become, and what it costs.

Both books, in different ways, feel like permission: to be seen, and to change.

Brittle Paper

I love that answer! And as someone who has been putting off reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo because of life getting busy, I’m definitely getting to it soon.

The last question is my favourite to ask. If you could have a dinner party with your favourite artists, who would they be?

Mercy Eni

First, the author Bolu Babalola. Her work is so rich and whimsical, and she feels like someone who would bring warmth, humour, and just the right amount of chaos in the best way. You just know the conversation would drift into love, myth, and everything in between.

Then Beyoncé. Not just for the music, but for the way she understands black history and storytelling through art. I feel like she’d casually drop the most unexpected, fascinating stories mid-dinner and somehow elevate the entire night. Also, she’d arrive with exceptional whisky and who wouldn’t appreciate that!

And the singer, RAYE. I’ve been loving her new album This Music May Contain Hope, and I just know she’d bring a raw, unfiltered energy to the table. I’d absolutely need her to tell the full story behind the third track “Beware the South London lover boy,” it feels like the kind of conversation that starts off funny and ends up a little too real.

Finally, poet Simply Sayo, because she’s boisterous, loud and witty. She’ll keep the table alive with constant laughter. Plus, I love her relationship with her sisters so I know she would involve us in a couple of Tik Tok moves

Brittle Paper

I love asking that question because it always creates the most fun fantasy dinner party, and yours is no exception!

Now, I’m very excited because it has been a while since I ran a series on Brittle Paper. You had initially submitted the first part to us, and after it was accepted, you reached out to ask about running it as a series. Brittle Paper always looks for ways to highlight our diasporic community, and I think your series is a brilliant way to do that.

How would you introduce “Mercy in Manchester” to our readers?

Mercy Eni

First of all, I’ve always wanted to get published on Brittle Paper so this is bucket list enormous for me. So, I wanted to do something a little more personal. This is a story about my becoming in a foreign land, about what it means to find yourself in a place that doesn’t quite feel like home, while still carrying all the places you’ve come from. At its heart it’s a story about navigating Manchester as a black immigrant (not an expat) holding the tension between identity, belonging and reinvention. It’s rooted in the diasporic experience – the quiet negotiations, the loud moments of self-discovery and the in between spaces where I am constantly figuring out who I am allowed to be and learning how to take up space. There’s love, humor and a bit of messiness in that journey because becoming is never a straight neat line

Brittle Paper

In “Mercy in Manchester,” you talk about the relocation process, the emotions behind every phase, rental hunting in England, finding grounding, and so much more. You write it in a way that presents the reality of moving abroad, especially to the west, but with a touch of whimsy that makes reading about your life so endearing. I’m always curious about writers who put out work about themselves. Is there a part of you that finds comfort in sharing these stories?

Mercy Eni

Well moving here alone, without family or friends, meant I was starting from ground zero in every sense. Writing became a kind of anchor for me, a way to sit with everything I was feeling and make sense of it. I was a little apprehensive about sharing these stories as they are quite personal and vulnerable. But the more I wrote the more I felt reassured. It was almost therapeutic reading my words back to myself. And even though the whole experience is isolating, its not singular and there’s some connection to be found in telling my truth about it.

Brittle Paper

I think that’s beautiful, and the thing about these kinds of stories is that, even though this is your personal journey, so many others, diasporic or not, will find it relatable.

So, our readers will be getting a weekly Saturday instalment of your series, and you take us on quite the journey. We have quite a big diasporic community, and we often publish pieces of what it is like to go through the visa process, or the first Christmas away from home, or meeting people from a completely different culture. Have there been any big culture shocks that you are still getting used to? And is there anything from Kenya you wish you could teleport to Manchester?

Mercy Eni

Yes, the culture shocks were a little too real. The biggest one for me has definitely been the food. It sounds simple but its such a huge part of feeling at home, and I didn’t realise just how much I would miss it when I moved here. I often wish I could teleport my groceries straight from Nairobi to Manchester. Even something as basic as fruit tastes different. It’s hard to explain but you can feel the difference in freshness and flavor. You could leave fruits out for over a week and they won’t go bad which my African aunties would swear was witchcraft. I’ll go to the farmer’s market and there’s barely any flies even in the butcher section. It’s those small everyday things that catch you off guard. You adjust of course, but there’s always a part of you that still craves that familiarity

Brittle Paper

On the note of grocery stores and markets, I have a question about your inspirations. Besides the Brittle Paper series, I’ve also read some of your other works, which readers can do on your Medium or your website. Most pieces seem to be creative non-fiction or essays. Is this because you tend to find inspiration in the environments around you, or are there secret fiction stories hidden away that we are yet to discover?

Mercy Eni

It’s a bit difficult to fully articulate my writing process but for the most part, ideas tend to arrive quite unexpectedly and I’ll quickly jot down a draft framework so I don’t forget and will build on it slowly. It will usually happen when I’m not in the house which isn’t as often as I would want it to be (I’m trying to change that). There’s something about being in motion or simply trying not to0 hard to think that allows thoughts to just float to the surface more naturally. So, I wouldn’t say it’s strictly planned inspiration, it’s more like moments finding me, rather than me chasing something. There’s definitely some secret fiction stories I am currently working on that I’m really excited about so hopefully you’ll stick around to find out

Brittle Paper

I, for one, will definitely be sticking around for that!

Tomorrow, we launch the first instalment of your “Mercy in Manchester” series. What can you tell our readers to expect?

Mercy Eni

Readers can expect stories that sit right at the intersection of ordinary and the unexpected, the kind that make you pause and go ‘wait… what just happened?’ At its core, it’s about reinvention, following the emotional reality of starting over in a new country and all the quiet internal conflicts that come with it. Learning not to be afraid of change, of loneliness, or of not fully recognising yourself for a while. There’s humor and vulnerability in it and there are moments that might feel surreal because often that’s what new beginnings will feel like. But underneath all that, it’s really about learning how to become someone new without losing yourself in the process.

Brittle Paper

As someone who has been lucky enough to read these stories already, I think this is a fantastic description!

Before we go, apart from the brilliant series our readers are soon to be in love with, what is one thing about yourself that you want to share with our community?

Mercy Eni

I’m quite drawn to small, everyday rituals that help me feel grounded – going to the gym, or taking walks in the sun whenever I can get it, which feels especially precious in Manchester’s constant rain.

I also read a lot and watch a fair amount of TV. I’m obsessed with books that get adapted for screen, from Little Fires Everywhere to Big Little Lies and Daisy Jones & The Six. I’m hoping Liane Moriarty’s Truly, Madly, Guilty gets adapted as well. I’m currently really enjoying Apple TV’s Imperfect Women, another adapted show. I’ve always been drawn to women villain arcs in stories, and that’s something I’m quietly exploring in a secret fiction series I’m working on.

Outside of that, I like colouring and playing Scrabble – often just playing against myself with a bottle of Prosecco never too far away, which probably says a lot. So, if you’re ever in Manchester and fancy a game of Scrabble, I’m always happy to host (you’ve got to come with some marbles and a whole lot of vocabulary though).

Brittle Paper

Mercy, it has been an absolute pleasure chatting with you! And I’m incredibly excited for the series launching tomorrow. Thank you!

 

Mercy in Manchester will be launching on 2 May 2026. Please visit the BP homepage every Saturday morning to read the new instalment!