Patrice Lawrence MBE,

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...

(born 1960s) is a British writer and journalist, who has published fiction both for adults and children. Her writing has won awards including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Older Children and ''

The Bookseller ''The Bookseller'' is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. Philip Jones is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine and the website. The magazine is home to the ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddes ...

YA Book Prize The YA Book Prize is a British literary award established by publishing magazine ''The Bookseller'' in 2014. The accolade is given to Young adult literature, young adult novels published by an author in the United Kingdom or Ireland in the previou ...

. In 2021, she won the

Jhalak Prize The Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour is an annual literary prize awarded to British or British-resident BAME writers. £1,000 is awarded to the sole winner. The Jhalak Prize was launched in 2016 and was created by writers ...

's inaugural children's and young adult category for her book ''Eight Pieces of Silva'' (2020).

Biography

Patrice Lawrence was born in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and was brought up in an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

family, her mother having come to England from Trinidad to train as a psychiatric nurse. Lawrence has an MA in Writing for Film and TV, and was mentored by 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 ...

as a prospective comedy writer. Her first story to be published was "Duck, Duck, Goose", which was included in ''The Decibel Penguin Prize Anthology'' (

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

, 2006). It was while attending an

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, and Patricia Cumper is ...

crime writing course led by Dreda Say Mitchell and

Frances Fyfield Frances Fyfield (born 18 November 1948) is the pseudonym of Frances Hegarty, an English lawyer and crime-writer. Biography Born and brought up in Derbyshire, Hegarty was mostly educated in convent schools before reading English at Newcastle Univ ...

that Lawrence had the idea for her debut young adults' novel, ''Orangeboy''. Published in 2016, ''Orangeboy'' won ''

''s 2017

, the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Older Children 2017, and was shortlisted for the 2016 Costa Children's Book Award. It received a five-star rating from

MuggleNet MuggleNet is the Internet's oldest and largest '' Harry Potter'' and Wizarding World fansite. MuggleNet was founded in 1999. It has expanded over the years to include a handful of partner podcasts, a separate book blog, over half a dozen publis ...

, with the reviewer stating: "I absolutely adored this moving story. It is full of tears and laughter, unfettered fears and furious joy, family and friendship. This important, gripping, heart-in-your-throat contemporary about a teen boy swept up in trouble is not to be missed. For fans of

Malorie Blackman Oneta Malorie Blackman (born 8 February 1962) 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 ...

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (' Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for tackling realistic topics such as adoption and divorce. Since her debut novel in 1969, ...

, Alan Gibbons,

Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. Over his lifetime, he was awarded 20 honorary doctorates in recognition of his c ...

, and

Melvin Burgess Melvin Burgess (born 25 April 1954) is a British writer of children's fiction. He became famous in 1996 with the publication of ''Junk (novel), Junk'', about heroin-addicted teenagers on the streets of Bristol. In Britain, ''Junk'' became one o ...

. If you like your stories real, heartfelt, and moving, ''Orangeboy'' is one for you." Lawrence herself has been reported as saying of the novel that "though her primary aim had been to promote hope in her story of a teenager caught in gang violence, she wanted to reflect the real situation faced by many black teenagers in Britain". Her follow-up book, ''Indigo Donut'' (2017), was described by Alex O'Connell in ''

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 ...

'' as "addictive", having "many of the themes of a Jacqueline Wilson novel: bullying, fostering, teenage relationships. Yet Lawrence's tale is told with unfettered dialogue and broad-ranging cultural references for an older audience who don't need to be spared the details." ''

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 ...

'' reviewer wrote: "Her award-winning debut ''Orangeboy'', a gripping urban thriller, announced Patrice Lawrence as a bold, fresh voice in young adult fiction. This promise is realised in her second book, a tender and complex story of first love, family and belonging." Both novels are set in Hackney, London, where Lawrence has lived in

Lower Clapton Clapton is a district of east London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and ori ...

since 1997. Lawrence also writes a regular blog centering on her experiences of writing and having her work published, called The Lawrence Line, about which she has said: "There are a lot of people coming up behind you and you want to let them know how it happens, particularly for young black writers. I want to show that I've had a good experience of publishing and give people hope that they can tell their stories." Lawrence is a contributor to the 2019 anthology ''

New Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora ...

'', 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 ...

. In October 2021, Lawrence was announced as taking on the role of ambassador for

First Story First Story is an English charity that encourages children and young people to write creatively, outside the curriculum, for self-expression and pleasure. Its aim is to empower children and young people from low-income communities to find and dev ...

, a charity promoting creative writing for young people, with a focus on those in low-income communities. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

Selected bibliography

* ''Granny Ting Ting'' – for children (A & C Black, 2009, , 80 pp.) * ''Orangeboy'' (Hodder Children's Books, 2016, . Also available as an audiobook, narrated by

Ben Bailey Smith Benjamin Harvey Bailey Smith (born 21 September 1977), professionally known as Doc Brown, is an English actor, comedian, rapper, screenwriter, songwriter, producer and voiceover artist. He portrayed DS Joe Hawkins in the television series '' La ...

."Orangeboy"
at

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

. * ''Indigo Donut'' (Hodder Children's Books, 2017, ) * ''Eight Pieces of Silva'' (Hodder Children's Books, 2020, ) * ''Rat'' (Oxford University Press, 2021, )

References

External links

"The Lawrence Line"
"A blog about writing, selling writing and the family stories that inspire writing".
"A Book That Changed my Life , Patrice Lawrence"
''Precious'', 6 June 2017.
"Patrice Lawrence Q&A:'I get to write a black girl into Enid Blyton's Malory Towers'"
''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'', 20 February 2019. * Jacob Hope
"An Interview with Patrice Lawrence"
CILIP, 2 August 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Patrice Living people 21st-century British women writers 21st-century English novelists Black British women writers Black British writers British women novelists British women short story writers English children's writers English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Members of the Order of the British Empire Writers from Brighton Year of birth missing (living people)