Alex Alphonso Wheatle MBE (3 January 1963 – 16 March 2025) was a British novelist, who was sentenced to a term of imprisonment after the

1981 Brixton riot The 1981 Brixton riot, or Brixton uprising, was a series of clashes between mainly black youths and the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, London, between 10 and 12 April 1981.J. A. Cloake & M. R. Tudor. ''Multicultural Britain''. Oxford Unive ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Life and career

Born on 3 January 1963 in London, to Jamaican parents, Wheatle spent much of his childhood in a Shirley Oaks Children's Home in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

. At the age of 16, he was a founding member of the Crucial Rocker soundsystem; his DJ name was Yardman Irie. He wrote lyrics about everyday life in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, south London. By 1980, Wheatle was living in a

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

hostel in Brixton, and he participated in the

s and their aftermath. While serving his resulting sentence, he read authors such as Chester Himes, Richard Wright, C. L. R. James and

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...

. Wheatle's cellmate, a

Rastafari Rastafari is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion. There is no central authori ...

, was the one who encouraged Wheatle to start reading books and care about his education. He featured aspects of his life in his books, such as ''East of Acre Lane'' characters Yardman Irie and Jah Nelson. Wheatle spoke about the Brixton riots, most prominently in the 2006

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

programme ''Battle for Brixton''. His early books are based on his life in Brixton as a teenager and his time in social services' care. He received the London Arts Board New Writers Award in 1999 for his debut novel ''Brixton Rock'', which was later adapted for the stage and performed at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

in July 2010. He wrote and performed ''Uprising'', a one-man play based on his own life at Tara Arts Studios,

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, London. In 2011, he took ''Uprising'' on tour and performed it at the Writing On The Wall Festival,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

, the

Marlowe Theatre The Marlowe Theatre is a 1,200-seat theatre in Canterbury named after playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was born and attended school in the city. It was named a The Stage Awards, Stage Awards, 2022 UK Theatre of the Year. The Marlowe Trust ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

, the Ilkley Playhouse and the

Albany Theatre The Albany is a multi-purpose arts centre in Deptford, south-east London. Facilities include a flexible performance space holding up to 300 seated or 500 standing and a bar, two studio theatres, a performance cafe and rehearsal / meeting rooms. ...

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

. The play re-toured theatres and literature festivals in 2012, marking the 50th year of Jamaican Independence. Wheatle lived in London. He was a member of

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associa ...

, and he visited various institutions facilitating creative writing classes and making speeches. He also narrated an audio guide to the streets of Brixton. Wheatle died from prostate cancer on 16 March 2025, at the age of 62.

Awards and honours

In the

2008 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2008 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Of ...

, Wheatle was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) for services to literature.United Kingdom list: His young-adult novel ''Liccle Bit'' was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 2016. His 2016 book ''Crongton Knights'' won the 50th

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annually recognised one fiction book written for Children's literature, children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conf ...

. S. F. Said, one of the judging panel, said of the book: "Wheatle's writing is poetic, rhythmic and unique, remaking the English language with tremendous verve. Though Crongton is his invention, it resonates with many urban situations, not only in Britain but around the world. ''Crongton Knights'' is a major novel from a major voice in British children's literature." A 10-part TV adaptation of the Crongton books aired on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

in March 2025. Wheatle's life story features in '' Alex Wheatle'', the fourth film in '' Small Axe'', a 2020

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

of five films by

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

about the West Indian community in the UK during the 1970s and 1980s. ''Alex Wheatle'' depicts Wheatle's life up to and just after the Brixton uprising. In March 2024 the ''Arbeitskreis für Jugendliteratur'', the German national section of IBBY, nominated ''Cane Warriors'' in the category ''Jugendbuch'' for the 2024

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

Bibliography

*''Brixton Rock'' (Black Amber, 1999) *''East of Acre Lane'' ( Fourth Estate, 2001) *''The Seven Sisters'' (Fourth Estate, 2002) *''Checkers'' (with Mark Parham; X-Press, 2003) *''Island Songs'' (

Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in Ma ...

, 2005) *''The Dirty South'' ( Serpent's Tail, 2008) *''Brenton Brown'' (Arcadia Books, 2011) *''Liccle Bit'' (Atom Books, 2015) *''Crongton Knights'' (Atom Books, 2016) *''Straight Outta Crongton'' (Atom Books, 2017) *''Uprising'' (Spck Books, 2017) *''Nicolas Cage '' (Barrington Stoke, 2018) *''Home Boys'' (Arcadia Books, 2018) *''Home Girl'' (

Little Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

, Akashic,

Hachette UK Hachette Livre S.A. (; simply known as Hachette) is a French publishing group that was based in Paris. It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif which later became successively L. Hachette et Compagnie, Librairie Hachette, Hachette ...

, 2019) *''Cane Warriors'' (

Andersen Press Andersen Press is a British book publishing company. It was founded in 1976 by Klaus Flugge, and was named after Hans Christian Andersen "because it is easier to pronounce and spell than Flugge". Random House has a holding in the company and a ...

, 2020) *''Cringel'' (Pringles, 2020) *''Kemosha of the Caribbean'' (Andersen Press, 2022) *''Sufferah: Memoir of a Brixton Reggae Head'' (Arcadia, 2023) Wheatle's books have also been translated into French, Italian, Urdu, Welsh, German, and Japanese.

References

External links

*
"Alex Wheatle MBE , 3rd January 1963-16th March 2025"
Words of Colour. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheatle, Alex 1963 births 2025 deaths 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British novelists 20th-century English criminals 21st-century British male writers 21st-century British memoirists 21st-century British novelists Black British writers British children's writers British dramatists and playwrights British male dramatists and playwrights British male novelists British writers of young adult literature Criminals from London English people of Jamaican descent Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners Members of the Order of the British Empire