OWN IT! Welcomes co-founder of Brixton Soup Kitchen and one of the Evening Standards top-most influential Londoners: Mahamed Hashi, to OWN IT! Literary, Film and TV Agency.

Mahamed co-founded the Brixton Soup Kitchen in January 2013 with his co-founder Solomon Smith, both Lambeth youth workers of 19 years, and lifelong Brixtonians. Realising the desperate need for such an organisation, they help homeless people and Londoners in need by providing free food, support and company. Their aim is to empower people in a warm and friendly environment, helping them to gain the confidence and self-worth needed to get back on their feet.

Heavily involved in the community and a representative of several community groups, Mahamed has been recognised for his work by South London Press, who awarded him with the ‘Our Hero’s Award’. Most recently Mahamed became the first Elected Somali Councillor in Lambeth, representing Stockwell Ward and won the national LGIU Councillors Achievement Awards just 6 months into his new role. We are very excited to have such an incredible addition to the OWN IT! Literary, Film and TV Agency.

Mahamed commented:

“So excited to be joining the OWN IT! team, as well as having the opportunity to collaborate with the likes of Jude Yawson”

Mahamed will be represented by Crystal Mahey-Morgan, who commented:

“It’s exciting to be working with someone who has a solid history of helping the community and pushing boundaries and we’re very much looking forward to working with Mahamed across many interesting projects”

We are so excited to announce the incredible Salena Godden’s debut novel, is set to be published by Cannongate on 4^th February 2021.

If you were lucky enough to catch it, in 2018 a BBC Radio 4 documentary was broadcast, capturing the creation of this new experimental work, in which death is personified as a woman. If you didn’t, worry not, it’s not long to wait until the release of Mrs Death Misses Death – a novel you DO NOT want to miss!

We are so excited to welcome Reggie Nelson, the innovative young man who went ‘from East London to the City’. Achieving this by knocking on the doors of people in wealthy area’s and asking for life advice. On his journey, Reggie has completed five internships at various asset managers and a hedge fund in the city, the most notable being BlackRock and Aberdeen Standard Investments.

He is described by former Prime Minister, Theresa May, as a “persistent and inspiring young person”.

Reggie commented:

“I’m really looking forward to working on a lot of cool projects with the OWN IT! Team, and I’m glad I get to work with a team that really buys into my vision and will help me elevate from more than one angle”

Reggie Nelson will be represented by Crystal Mahey-Morgan, who commented:

“Reggie personifies innovation, initiative and inspiration. He had the courage and audacity to knock on stranger’s doors to ask for advice on how to be successful and through this opened many future doors for himself. He is now passionate about opening doors for others through his story and experiences and we’re truly delighted to have him join the OWN IT! collective”.

Yemisi Adegoke, a British-Nigerian journalist for the BBC, who we are very excited to be joining us, has signed to OWN IT! Literary, Film and TV Agency.

A journalist with close to a decade of experience, Yemisi has written and produced for CNN, Quartz, The Guardian, The Discovery Channel and The Independent. A graduate of the Arthur L Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, currently based in Lagos, Nigeria, she is passionate about telling stories from around the continent.

Yemisi will be represented by Crystal Mahey-Morgan who commented:

“Yemisi offers hope in regards to well researched, nuanced and relevant journalism and she isn’t afraid to bring forward different perspectives and explore relevant and important issues from a refreshing global perspective. Her writing and ideas reach far beyond journalism and she’s an important voice of today’s generation who we are very proud to represent.”

Yemisi commented:

“I’m so excited to be part of the amazingly talented and creative OWN IT! family. I’m really looking forward to sharing some of the projects we have been working on and couldn’t be happier to be part of the team!”

Introducing the talented Sophia Thakur, our latest addition to the OWN IT! Agency.  Combining honest and provocative lyrics, Sophia is known to many as “our generations first poetry influencer. With over 14,000 Youtube followers, performing at universities, Glastonbury and TEDx, Sophia Thakur is one of the most recognisable figures in UK performance poetry today. Her charming and gentle wisdom married to her thought-provoking story telling ability has led her to touch millions of lives both on and offline.

Sharing her message of inspiration, expression and empowerment, we are so excited for the release of her first poetry collection SOMEBODY GIVE THIS HEART A PEN, on 3rd October 2019. Taking readers on an intimate journey through love, loss, faith and self-discovery, Sophia gives voice to the experiences that connect people and encourages readers to look into themselves and explore the tendencies of the heart.

Sophia will be represented by Crystal Mahey-Morgan who commented:

“Sophia personifies an exciting new generation who are taking words, art and media to new heights. She is an exciting, unique and original voice, brimming with ideas and boundless talent. We are very excited to have her join the OWN IT! Collective.”

Sophia commented:

“OWN IT! drives words in an ethical way and that’s the kind of team I want to work with. My vision for poetry goes far beyond what we read growing up and delves into music, theatre, film and production. The world is made of a composition of words afterall”

Check out more of her work here: https://www.sophiathakur.co.uk/previous-campaigns

OWN IT! Agency represents Sophia for Literature, Film and TV. To speak to us about any of these rights please email: Agency@OWNIT.LONDON