Draft:Charlie Brinkhurst Cuff

Born in Hackney, East London, Brinkhurst-Cuff is the only daughter of musicians Jacqueline Cuff and Tim Brinkhurst, both members of the British pop group Soho. Her Jamaican and possibly Cuban maternal grandparents arrived in England as part of the Windrush generation, while she describes her paternal side as "Kentish farmers and labourers".{{Cite web|url=https://i-d.co/article/charlie-brinkhurst-cuff-what-does-britishness-mean-in-2019/|title=charlie brinkhurst-cuff: what does britishness mean in 2019?|work=i-D|first=Charlie|last=Brinkhurst-Cuff|date=2 January 2019|accessdate=15 May 2025}} When Brinkhurst-Cuff was 8 years old going on 9, the family moved to Leith, a suburb of Edinburgh.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/home-coming-edinburgh/|title=Home Coming: Edinburgh|work=Vice|first=Charlie|last=Brinkhurst-Cuff|date=16 August 2017|accessdate=15 May 2025}}{{Cite web|url=https://voices.media/transcript-charlie-brinkhurst-cuff-head-editorial-gal-dem/|title=Transcript: Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, Head of Editorial, gal-dem|work=Media Voices|first=Esther Kezia|last=Thorpe|date=2 October 2019|accessdate=15 May 2025}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/aug/11/having-three-parents-growing-up-mum-and-twin|title='She was like a second mother': growing up with my mum and her identical twin|work=The Guardian|first=Charlie|last=Brinkhurst-Cuff|date=11 August 2018|accessdate=15 May 2025}}

Brinkhurst-Cuff attended Broughton High School. She returned to London for university, graduating from Goldsmiths, University of London in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English literature.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytco.com/press/charlie-brinkhurst-cuff-joins-narrative-projects-as-editor/|title=Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff Joins Narrative Projects as Editor|work=The New York Times Company|date=2021-06-11|access-date=2025-05-07|language=en}} During her time at Goldsmiths, she was editor of the university's publication Smiths Magazine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.journoresources.org.uk/charlie-brinkhurst-cuff-a-day-life/|title=A Day In The Life Of… Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, Head of Editorial at gal-dem|work=Journo Resources|first=Jessica|last=Murray|date=23 April 2019|accessdate=15 May 2025}}

Following her undergraduate studies she completed an NCTJ (National Council for the Training of Journalists) at Lambeth College. As a recipient of the Guardian's Scott Trust Bursary,{{Cite news |last1=Brinkhurst-Cuff |first1=Charlie |last2=Togoh |first2=Isabel |last3=Adu |first3=Aletha |last4=Kwenortey |first4=Emmanuella |date=2016-05-12 |title=Our stories need to be told – life as a black female journalist starting out |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/12/black-female-journalists-young-women-online-trolling |access-date=2025-05-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} she completed a Master of Arts (MA) in Newspaper Journalism at City University in 2016.

Charlie was one of the founding members of gal-dem{{Cite web |title=gal-dem |url=https://gal-dem.com/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |language=en-GB}} in 2015, alongside Liv Little. In 2017, she won the Georgina Henry Award for Innovation in Journalism at the UK Press Awards.{{Cite web |title=Georgina Henry Award for Digital Innovation |url=https://www.womeninjournalism.co.uk/georginahenryaward-clone-1715607530421 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Women in Journalism |language=en-GB}} She later became Editor-in-Chief of gal-dem, a position she held until 2021, when she joined The New York Times company on a year-long project. gal-dem closed in 2023.{{Cite news |date=2023-04-13 |title=Gal-dem closure: Magazine 'was different to everything else we'd seen' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-65239808 |access-date=2025-05-07 |language=en-GB}}

In 2024, Brinkhurst-Cuff completed a fellowship at the University of Oxford's Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, investigating how the media reports on missing people.{{Cite web |date=2024-10-03 |title=Forgotten lives: Unpacking the crisis of missing people coverage in UK media {{!}} Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism |url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/forgotten-lives-unpacking-crisis-missing-people-coverage-uk-media |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk |language=en}} Her long read for The Guardian titled "The Killing of Fiona Holm: why was the life and death of this beloved mother so overlooked?" was long-listed for the 2025 Paul Foot Award for Investigative and Campaigning Journalism.{{Cite web |title=The Paul Foot Award {{!}} Private Eye |url=https://www.private-eye.co.uk/paul-foot-award |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=www.private-eye.co.uk}}

Brinkhurst-Cuff currently describes herself as a freelance writer and editor "specialising in project-based work across disciplines, including journalism, literature and the screen."{{Cite web |title=Charlie Brinkhurst Cuff |url=https://www.charliebrinkhurstcuff.com/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Charlie Brinkhurst Cuff |language=en-US}} As a podcaster, panellist, event host and speaker she has worked with Free Turn, BAFTA, Channel 4{{Cite web |date=2017-11-27 |title="She's not exotic. She's not from a tribe in the Amazon. She's American": Gina Yashere on Meghan Markle's engagement |url=https://www.channel4.com/news/shes-not-exotic-shes-american-gina-yashere-on-meghan-markles-engagement |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Channel 4 News |language=en-GB}} and Nike.{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2019-01-17 |title=Watch our film series putting Nike's latest collection through its paces |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/42845/1/letitia-wright-dina-asher-smith-alex-oxlade-chamberlain-nike-techpack-collection |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Dazed |language=en}} As a freelance writer she has contributed article to publications including The Guardian, Financial Times, Elle UK and Stylist.

Brinkhurst-Cuff is the editor of the following books:

• Mother Country: Real Stories of the Windrush Children (Hatchette, 2018), longlisted for the Jhalak Prize.{{Cite book |url=https://www.headline.co.uk/titles/charlie-brinkhurst-cuff/mother-country/9781472261908/ |title=Mother Country |date=2019-02-01 |isbn=978-1-4722-6190-8 |language=en-US |last1=Brinkhurst-Cuff |first1=Charlie |publisher=Headline }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/charlie-cuff-mother-country|title=What It's Really Like To Be A Child Of The Windrush Generation|work=Refinery29|first=Jazmin|last=Kopotsha|date=15 October 2018|accessdate=15 May 2025}}
• I Will Not be Erased: Our Stories About Growing Up As People Of Colour (Walker, 2019), shortlisted for the 2020 Waterstones Children's Book Prize
• Black Joy (Penguin, 2021), anthology{{Cite book |last=Various |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/444002/black-joy/9780241519684 |title=Black Joy |date=2023-04-27 |language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/brinkhurst-cuff-curates-black-joy-collection-penguin-1231053|title=Brinkhurst-Cuff curates Black Joy collection for Penguin|work=The Bookseller|first=Mark|last=Chandler|date=21 December 2020|accessdate=15 May 2025}}

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