Oneta Malorie Blackman (born 8 February 1962) is a British writer who held the position of

Children's Laureate Children's Laureate, now known as the Waterstones Children's Laureate, is a position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field". The rol ...

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, for example, her ''Noughts and Crosses'' series uses the setting of a fictional alternative Britain to explore racism. Blackman has been the recipient of many honours for her work, including the 2022 PEN Pinter Prize.

Early life and education

Malorie Blackman was born on 8 February 1962 in Merton,

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 ...

, and grew up in

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, one of 5 siblings. Her parents were both from

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

and had come to Britain as part of the " Windrush generation"; her father Joe was a bus driver and her mother Ruby worked in a pyjama factory. Blackman's father walked out on the family while she was younger, leaving her mother to single-handedly raise her and her siblings. At school, Malorie wanted to be an English teacher, but she grew up to become a systems programmer instead. She earned an HNC at

Thames Polytechnic The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

and is a graduate of the National Film and Television School. Since the 1980s, Blackman began attending various courses at City Lit adult education college, and in 2019, City Lit announced the Malorie Blackman OBE "Unheard Voices" Creative Writing Scholarships, providing three annual awards worth up to £1000 each to fund study within the City Lit Creative Writing department.

Career

Blackman's first book was ''Not So Stupid!'', a collection of horror and science fiction stories for young adults, published in November 1990. Since then, she has written more than 60 children's books, including novels and short-story collections, and also television scripts and a

stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...

. She also became the first person of colour writer to work on ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' in 2018. Blackman's award-winning ''Noughts & Crosses'' series (beginning in 2001), exploring love, racism, and violence, is set in a fictional alternative Britain. Explaining her choice of title, in a 2007 interview for the

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 ...

's ''Blast'' website, Blackman said that noughts and crosses is "one of those games that nobody ever plays after childhood, because nobody ever wins". In an interview for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', Blackman said that before writing ''Noughts & Crosses'', her

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

ethnicities An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

had never been central to the plots of her books. She has also said: "I wanted to show black children just getting on with their lives, having adventures, and solving their dilemmas, like the characters in all the books I read as a child." Blackman eventually decided to address racism directly. She reused some details from her own experience, including an occasion when she needed a

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

and found they were designed to be inconspicuous only on white people's skin. ''The Times'' interviewer Amanda Craig speculated about the delay for the ''Noughts & Crosses'' series to be published in the United States: "though there was considerable interest, 9/11 killed off the possibility of publishing any book describing what might drive someone to become a terrorist". ''Noughts and Crosses'' later became available in the US, published under the title ''Black & White'' (

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

Publishers, 2005). ''Noughts & Crosses'' was No. 61 on the

Big Read The Big Read was a survey on books that was carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, when over three-quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel. The year-long survey was th ...

list, a 2003 BBC survey to find "The Nation's Best-Loved Book".

Recognition and awards

She was appointed

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) 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 ...

. Her work has won more than 15 awards. Blackman's television scripts include episodes of the long-running children's drama '' Byker Grove'' as well as television adaptations of her novels ''Whizziwig'' and ''Pig-Heart Boy''. Her books have been translated into more than 15 languages, including

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, Welsh,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, Japanese, Chinese and French. In June 2013, Blackman was announced as the new

, succeeding Julia Donaldson. Blackman helped set up the first UK Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC) during her time as Children's Laureate. In 2022, Blackman was chosen as winner of the PEN Pinter Prize, becoming the first author of children's and Young Adult books to receive the accolade. In her acceptance address at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

in October 2022, she named Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace as the International Writer of Courage with whom she would share the prize. In November 2023, the exhibition ''Malorie Blackman: The Power of Stories'' opened at the British Library (on show until 25 February 2024), celebrating and contextualizing her career. As described by ''

Wallpaper Wallpaper is used in interior decoration to cover the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" to help cover uneve ...

'' magazine, it "shines a light on Blackman's journey as an author, while touching upon social issues represented in her novels.... The landmark exhibition ... is an open invitation to learn about the importance of media representation, and Black activism throughout the 1960s to 1980s."

Personal life

Malorie Blackman lives with her husband Neil and daughter Elizabeth in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England. In her free time, she likes to play her piano, compose, play computer games and write poetry. She is the subject of a biography for children by Verna Wilkins. In March 2014, Blackman joined other prominent authors in supporting the Let Books Be Books campaign, which seeks to stop children's books being labelled as "for girls" or "for boys". In August 2014, Malorie Blackman was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' opposing

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. Blackman is a contributor to the 2019 anthology '' New Daughters of Africa'' (edited by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

) with a letter written to her daughter. In 2019,

Stormzy Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is an English-Ghanaian rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' ...

namechecked Blackman in his " Superheroes" song, and in 2022 she appeared in the " Mel Made Me Do It" promo video. Blackman's memoir ''Just Sayin': My Life In Words'', published in 2022, was summed up by Patrice Lawrence as "a book about survival and success".

Works

Published books

Novels for young adults and children

* ''Not So Stupid!: Incredible Short Stories'', The Women's Press, 1990, * ''Trust Me'', Livewire, 1992, . Corgi Children's, 2013, * ''Words Last Forever'', Mammoth, 1998, * The ''Noughts & Crosses'' series, in reading order: **''Noughts & Crosses'', Doubleday, 2001, **''Callum'' (

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

), RHCP Digital 2012, **''An Eye for an Eye'', (novella), Corgi Children's, 2003, **''Knife Edge'', Doubleday, 2004, **''Checkmate'', Doubleday, 2005, **''Double Cross'', Doubleday, 6 November 2008 **''Nought Forever'' (novella), Penguin, 2019 (world book day) **''Crossfire'', Penguin, 8 August 2019 **''Endgame'', Penguin, 16 September 2021 * ''The Stuff of Nightmares'', Doubleday, 2007, * '' Boys Don't Cry'', Doubleday Children's, 2010. Corgi Children's, 2011, * ''Unheard Voices: An Anthology of Stories and Poems to Commemorate the Bicentenary Anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade'', ed. Malorie Blackman, Corgi Children's, 2007, * ''Noble Conflict'', Doubleday Children's, 2013, * ''Chasing the Stars'', 2016,

Short stories for young adults

* "Humming Through My Fingers" in the multi-author collection ''Shining On: A Collection of Stories in Aid of the Teen Cancer Trust'', Picadilly Press, 2006, * Short story in the multi-author collection ''The Crew and Other Teen Fiction'', Heinemann Library,

Novels for children

* ''Hacker'', Doubleday, 1992, * ''Operation Gadgetman!'', Doubleday, 1993, * ''Jack Sweettooth the 73rd'', Viking Children's Books, 1995, * ''The Space Stowaway'', Ginn, 1995, * '' Whizziwig'' (illustrated by Stephen Lee), Viking Children's Books, 1995, * ''Thief!'', Doubleday, 1995, * ''A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E'', Doubleday, 1996, * '' Pig-Heart Boy'', Doubleday, 1997, * ''Animal Avengers'' (illustrated by Bill Greenhead and Stik), Mammoth, 1999, * ''Dangerous Reality'', Doubleday, 1999, * ''Don't Be Afraid'' (illustrated by Bob Harvey), Ginn, 1999, * ''Forbidden Game'', Puffin Books, 1999, * ''Hostage'' (illustrated by Derek Brazell), Barrington Stoke, 1999, * ''Tell Me No Lies'', Macmillan Children's Books, 1999, * ''Whizziwig Returns'' (illustrated by Stephen Lee), Puffin, 1999, * ''Dead Gorgeous'', Doubleday, 2002, * '' Cloud Busting'', Doubleday, 2004, * ''The Deadly Dare Mysteries'' (contents: ''Deadly Dare'', 1995, ''Computer Ghost'', 1997, ''Lie Detectives'' , 1998; illustrated by Neil Chapman), Corgi Children's, 2005, * ''Whizziwig and Whizziwig Returns'' (illustrated by Stephen Lee), Corgi Children's, 2005, * ''

: The Ripple Effect'', Puffin, 2013

Short stories for children

* "Contact" in the multi-author collection ''Out of This World: Stories of Virtual Reality'' (chosen by Wendy Cooling), Dolphin, 1997, * ''Aesop's Fables'' (retold by Malorie Blackman, illustrated by Patrice Aggs), Scholastic, 1998, * "Dare to be Different" (illustrated by Jane Ray) in the multi-author collection ''Dare to be Different'',

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in ...

, 1999, * "Peacemaker" in the multi-author collection ''Peacemaker and Other Stories'' (illustrated by Peter Richardson and David Hine), Heinemann Educational, 1999,

Books for new readers

* The Betsey Biggalow stories: ** ''Betsey Biggalow the Detective'' (illustrated by Lis Toft), Piccadilly Press, 1992, ** ''Betsey Biggalow is Here!'' (illustrated by Lis Toft), Piccadilly Press, 1992, ** ''Hurricane Betsey'' (illustrated by Lis Toft), Piccadilly Press, 1993, ** ''Magic Betsey'' (illustrated by Lis Toft), Piccadilly Press, 1994, ** ''Betsey's Birthday Surprise'' (illustrated by Lis Toft), Piccadilly Press, 1996, *The Girl Wonder series: ** ''Girl Wonder and the Terrific Twins'' (illustrated by Pat Ludlow), Orion Children's Books, 1991, ** ''Girl Wonder's Winter Adventures'' (illustrated by Lis Toft), Orion Children's Books, 1992, ** ''Girl Wonder to the Rescue'' (illustrated by Lis Toft), Gollancz, 1994, ** ''The Amazing Adventures of Girl Wonder'' (illustrated by Lis Toft), Barn Owl Books, 2003, * The Puzzle Planet adventures: ** ''Peril on Planet Pellia'' (illustrated by Patrice Aggs), Orchard Books, 1996, ** ''The Mellion Moon Mystery'' (illustrated by Patrice Aggs), Orchard Books, 1996, ** ''The Secret of the Terrible Hand'' (illustrated by Patrice Aggs), Orchard Books, 1996, ** ''Quasar Quartz Quest'' (illustrated by Patrice Aggs) Orchard Books, 1996, * The Longman Book Project (with translations to Welsh): ** ''Rachel versus Bonecrusher the Mighty'', Longman, 1994, ** ''Rachel and the Difference Thief'' (illustrated by Kim Harley), Longman, 1994, ** ''Crazy Crocs'' (with Alexander McCall Smith and Sally-Ann Lever), Longman, 1994, * ''Elaine You're a Brat!'' (illustrated by Doffy Weir), Orchard Books, 1991, * ''My Friend's a Gris-Quok'' (illustrated by Philip Hopman), Scholastic, 1994, * ''Grandma Gertie's Haunted Handbag'' (illustrated by David Price), Heinemann, 1996, * ''Space Race'' (illustrated by Colin Mier), Corgi Children's, 1997, * ''Fangs'' (illustrated by Tony Blundell), Orchard Books, 1998, * ''Snow Dog'' (illustrated by Sabrina Good), Corgi Children's, 2001, * ''The Monster Crisp-Guzzler'' (illustrated by Sami Sweeten), Corgi Children's, 2002, * ''Sinclair, Wonder Bear'' (illustrated by Deborah Allwright), Egmont Books, 2003,

Picture books

* ''That New Dress'' (illustrated by Rhian Nest James), Hodder Wayland, 1991, * ''Mrs Spoon's Family'' (illustrated by Jan McCafferty), Andersen Press, 1995, * ''Dizzy's Walk'' (illustrated by Pamela Venus), Tamarind Books, 1999, * ''Marty Monster'' (illustrated by Kim Harley), Tamarind Books, 1999, * ''I Want a Cuddle!'' (illustrated by Joanne Partis), Orchard Books, 2001, * ''Jessica Strange'' (with Alison Bartlett), Hodder Children's Books, 2002, * Contributed to ''A Christmas Tree of Stories'', Scholastic Press, 1999,

Memoir

* ''Just Sayin': My Life In Words'', Cornerstone (Merky Books), 2023,

Television scripts

Stage plays

*''The Amazing Rob The Mechanic'' *''Noughts and Crosses''

Radio scripts

*''Noughts and Crosses''

Awards and nominations

Body of work

* 1997, Excelle/Write Thing Children's Author of the Year Award. * 2005, Children's Book Circle's Eleanor Farjeon Award. * 2013, The Kitschies Black Tentacle for "outstanding achievement in encouraging and elevating the conversation around genre literature" * 2022, PEN Pinter Prize.

Novels

For ''Hacker'' (1995)

* 1994, W.H. Smith Mind Boggling Book of the Year Award. * 1994, Young Telegraph/Gimme 5 Children's Book of the Year Award. * 1995, Birmingham/TSB Children's Book Award (shortlist).

For ''A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E'' (1997)

* 1997, Stockport Children's Book of the Year Award (Key Stage 3 category). * 1997, Stockton-on-Tees Children's Book Award (shortlisted). * 1998, Sheffield Children's Book Award (highly commended). * 2001, Stockport Schools Book Award (shortlisted).

For ''Pig-Heart Boy'' (1997)

* 1998, Carnegie Medal (shortlist). * 1998, UKRA Award. * 1999, Lancashire Children's Book of the Year (shortlist). * 1999, Wirral Paperback of the Year Award.

For ''Tell Me No Lies'' (1999)

* 1999, Stockport Children's Book Award (shortlisted) (Key Stage 4 category).

For ''Dead Gorgeous'' (2002)

* 2003, Calderdale Book of the Year (shortlist). * 2003, Salford Children's Book Award (shortlist).

For books in the ''Noughts & Crosses'' series

* 2002, Lancashire Children's Book of the Year. * 2002,

Red House Children's Book Award The Children's Book Award is a British literary award for children's books, run by the Federation of Children's Book Groups and previously known as the Red House Children's Book Award. Books published in the U.K. during the preceding calendar yea ...

. * 2002, Sheffield Children's Book Award. * 2003, Wirral Paperback of the Year Award. * 2004, Fantastic Fiction Award. * 2005, Berkshire Book Award (shortlist). * 2005, Lancashire Children's Book of the Year (shortlist). * 2005, Redbridge Teenage Book Award (shortlist). * 2006, Lancashire Children's Book of the Year (shortlist). * 2006, Staffordshire Young People's Book of the Year.

For ''Cloud Busting'' (2004)

* 2004,

Nestlé Smarties Book Prize The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, and Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for a time, was a set of annual awards for British children's books that ran from 1985 to 2007. It was administered by BookTrust, an independent charity that promotes books and r ...

(Silver Award) (6–8 years category). * 2005, Redbridge Children's Book Award (shortlist). * 2005, Stockport Schools Book Award (shortlisted). * 2006, Nottingham Children's Book Award (shortlist) (10–11 years category). * 2006, West Sussex Children's Book Award (shortlist).

For ''Crossfire'' (2019)

* 2019, Costa Children's Book Award (Shortlist).

Television adaptations

For ''Pig-Heart Boy''

* 2000,

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Best Drama. * 2000, Race and Media Best Drama Award. * 2000,

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Award (Children's Drama category). * 2001, Chicago TV Festival (shortlist). * 2001, Prix Danube Children's Jury Prize.

For the ''Doctor Who'' episode "Rosa"

* 2019,

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form), nominated

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackman, Malorie 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century British short story writers 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers Alumni of the National Film and Television School Alumni of the University of Greenwich Black British women writers Black British writers British Children's Laureate British science fiction writers British women dramatists and playwrights British women short story writers British women television writers English children's writers English dramatists and playwrights English people of Barbadian descent English science fiction writers English television writers English women non-fiction writers English women novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Beckenham British women science fiction and fantasy writers 1962 births Writers from the London Borough of Bromley