Draft:Jade LB

Jade LB is a British creative and academic writer who rose to prominence following the release of her first publication Keisha the Sket in 2021.. Despite Keisha the Sket's official launch in 2021, the story has been around since 2005, when Jade LB first self-published the story on now derelict blogging site, Piczo. Since the official launch of Keisha, Jade LB has featured in many media publications, such as the BBC, the Guardian,  British GQ  and Vogue  to tell the story of her unexpected route to becoming a published author.

Jade also has experience within the podcast industry, having created and executive produced podcast project +44 Presents: The Noughties Podcast with presenters Comedian Eddie Kadi and BBC 1Xtra presenter Nadia Jae.

Early life
Jade LB is a London-based creative and academic writer with experience in both TV and Audio Executive Production. In 2005, at the age of 13, Jade started to write the chapters of her seminal book Keisha the Sket. As a young teenager, Jade did not have regular access to the internet, however was gifted a personal computer, therefore wrote the story on the notepad function of her computer and uploaded the story chapter by chapter to the then popular blogging site, Piczo. Unbeknown to Jade, the story of Keisha had spread across England, with teenagers across the country accessing the latest chapters via email and msn messenger. Some 14 years later a buzz about Keisha re-emerged on various social media platforms. This was followed by the acquisition of Keisha the Sket by #Merky Books and in 2021 Keisha the Sket was published.

Prior to the official launch of Keisha the Sket, Jade had spent most of her life focused on the world of politics and academia. In the summer of 2013 Jade graduated from the University of Essex with a degree in Politics and later graduated from the University of Birmingham with a Masters degree in Africa & Development.

Career
Since the official launch of Keisha the Sket, Jade has also contributed to other works within the creative writing space, including an essay on the topic 'black love' in the anthology aptly titled Blacklove: The Intricacies and Intimacies of Romantic Love in Black Relationships (2019) ' as well as short poem as part of the anthology curated by George the Poet titled 'Part of a Story That Started Before Me: Poems about Black British History' (July 2023).

Jade has also undertaken a number of public speaking engagements, delivering a keynote lecture for the Centre for Equity and Inclusion at London Metropolitan University in February 2023, contributing to a panel at the London Podcast Show in May 2023 about idea development in audio, as well as joining British Rapper Stormzy at Hay Literary Festival in June 2023, to talk about Black British literature in celebration of #Merky Book's fifth year at Penguin.

Anonymity and Reveal
Due to the nature of the coming-of-age issues explored within Jade's seminal novel Keisha the Sket, Jade chose to remain anonymous for 11 months following the official release of Keisha the Sket. In September 2022, Jade's identity was revealed when she featured in Stormzy's 2022 comeback video 'Mel Made Me Do It', stating in a caption on her instagram page "our national treasure is back. #mmmdi #melmademedoit"