Malorie Blackman
Malorie Blackman
Malorie Blackman, OBE, is a British writer who held the position of Children's Laureate from 2013 to 2015. She primarily writes literature and television drama for children and young adults. She has used science fiction to explore social and ethical issues. Her critically and popularly acclaimed Noughts and Crosses series uses the setting of a fictional dystopia to explore racism...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionYoung Adult Author
Date of Birth8 February 1962
CityLondon, England
adult affects fiction force forged happens history incredibly means needs shaping teenager whatever
There is a saying: 'The child is parent to the adult', which means whatever happens to you as a child or teenager affects the adult you become. You are forged in your history. And fiction is an incredibly important force in shaping children, and that's why fiction needs to be diverse.
minutes ten
When I was a child, we used to look forward to the end of the day when we would hear another ten minutes of a story.
I'm a voice for children's books and children's reading.
authors champion diverse forms graphic novels verse works writers
I would like to champion diverse forms like graphic novels and works told in verse and diverse writers and illustrators and diverse authors as well.
chimney next work
I work in my attic, and the view is next door's chimney stack.
behind work wrote
I wanted to have a body of work behind me before I wrote about racism.
design fan fiction goes music writers
I think fan fiction is the way most writers start, and the same goes for music and design.
children
Children find prescriptive reading lists daunting, and they are a dangerous thing to have in schools.
great laureate
Being the Children's Laureate has been educational, sometimes hectic, but most of all, great fun.
anxieties book child cover front publishers putting white
Any anxieties publishers have about putting a child on the front cover of a book who isn't white is very old fashioned.
life
A film of my life would never happen!
believe books disabled diverse people reflect sexual society though
I believe we need more culturally diverse books - about disabled characters, though not about their disability, about people with different sexual orientations, or a boy who is a cross-dresser. We need to reflect the diversity of our society.
became floor grew looked love reason session sit teacher
I remember, when I was at school, we would have a 10-minute storytelling session where we'd all sit on the floor cross-legged, and the teacher would read. It became something we all really looked forward to. That was part of the reason I grew to love stories.
inspired love opened stories taught
A love of books has opened so many doors for me. Stories have inspired me and taught me to aspire.