Malorie Blackman’s career honoured in British Library exhibition

Show dedicated to the prolific children’s and young adult novelist includes 82 rejection letters alongside her children’s laureate medal

To my great embarrassment, I’ve just discovered that I have been holding onto your novel, HACKER, since February 1990”, read a letter to Noughts & Crosses author Malorie Blackman from the senior commissioning editor of Simon & Schuster, dated nearly two years later. “I’m afraid we are not publishing any teenage novels in the near future”. The printed letter, addressed to “Marlorie”, with the extra “r” struck through in pen, was one of 82 rejection letters the writer received before her first book was published.

Hole-punched and stored in a ring binder, the letter is now on display at a British Library exhibition about Blackman, who has gone on to write more than 70 books for children and young adults, including the million-selling Noughts & Crosses series. The rejections folder is one of the artefacts that the author is most excited for the public to see, she says. “I hope that does encourage people.”

In 1989, amid the rejections, Blackman queued up for hours at a signing for Alice Walker’s novel The Temple of My Familiar. Blackman told Walker about her struggle to publish, and asked Walker to write “Don’t give up” in her copy. The inscribed book is also displayed in the exhibition. “For most people,” Blackman says, “especially if you’re in a creative world, the journey isn’t always straightforward, and so sometimes you just have to hang in there”.

The exhibition traces Blackman’s young adulthood: the Lewisham homeless shelter she lived in aged 13 is pictured; the comics she turned to as a “shield against the real world” are displayed. In the local library, which she says “saved my life”, she would read novels, including classic fiction – the likes of Jane Eyre. Later, at 22, she came across Walker’s The Color Purple – the first novel she had read that was written by a Black author and featured Black protagonists. “It had a profound effect on me,” says Blackman. “She was a Black woman author. They existed!”

Blackman wanted to study English at university and go into teaching, but her career adviser told her that “Black girls don’t become teachers”. She began studying business instead, but when her studies were interrupted by illness, she left for a job in computing. An Acorn BBC Micro computer is displayed, along with a picture of Blackman sitting upright at the one she owned, her red shirt matching the model’s distinctive red function keys.

In 1990, when she was 28, Blackman published her first book, Not So Stupid!, a collection of horror and science fiction for young adults. Throughout the 90s, she wrote tens of books for children. These included Whizziwig, a novel about two boys who befriend a small pink alien – it was adapted for television, and the furry puppet that Blackman was given at the end of filming is one of her favourite items on show.

Another early adaptation, of Operation Gadgetman!, disappointed Blackman. She had sold the film rights of the book – which featured two Black girls and one white girl as the protagonists – to finance her writing career. Yet, “watching the finished film was a revelation”, she wrote in the Guardian in 2006. “My three girl characters had been turned into boys, which I didn’t mind so much. And each boy was white. That I did mind.”

Blackman first wrote explicitly about race in her 50th book, Noughts & Crosses, set in an alternative Britain in which dark-skinned Crosses rule over light-skinned Noughts. The series and its many translations and adaptations — into illustrated versions and twice for stage as well as TV – gets a dedicated section in the exhibit. Alongside correspondence with her editor and feedback on a draft is a newspaper story about the murder of Stephen Lawrence – Blackman was appalled by the handling of the case, which motivated her to write the series.

The books were never intended to be a series, but they became a “response to current events”, Blackman explains in a video accompanying the exhibition. “Double Cross was very much a response to the proliferation of knife crime and joining gangs to feel safe. And then Crossfire and Endgame, the last two novels in the series, were just a response to Brexit and Trump”.

Blackman’s cultural impact is also on display, not only in her children’s laureate medal and Bafta but in snapshots from music videos by Stormzy, who has called Blackman his “childhood hero” and said that Noughts & Crosses is his favourite book. Blackman and her book feature in two of the grime artist’s videos, and he acted in the BBC Noughts & Crosses adaptation. This year, his publishing imprint, #MerkyBooks, published Blackman’s memoir, Just Sayin’.

The author hopes that the exhibition will “encourage, and entertain, and enlighten” visitors. “I never dreamt, when I first started writing, that I’d have an exhibition going on in the British Library,” she says. “It does feel totally surreal”.

• Malorie Blackman: The Power of Stories runs from 24 November 2023 to 25 February 2024. It is free to visit.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/24/malorie-blackmans-career-honoured-in-british-library-exhibition

Malorie Blackman calls for year-round black history in schools

By Adina Campbell

Community affairs correspondent

One of the UK’s most successful children’s authors says schools should teach black history all year round.

Malorie Blackman said history lessons should tell “the whole truth” of the British Empire, such as Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade.

Schools in England are not currently required to teach any black history.

Adding it to the curriculum would help prevent those speaking out against racism being accused of “race-baiting”, the former children’s laureate said.

“For some people, they don’t want anything taught that makes them uncomfortable,” Blackman told BBC News.

But history should not be about “cherry-picking the best bits” and she looked forward to Black History Month – October in the UK – becoming redundant because the topic was being taught all year round.

“If you’re talking about the history of Britain, then that history includes black people and people of colour,” Blackman said.

“My [ancestors’] history did not start with slavery. Black people have been in this country since Roman times, if not before.”

The curriculum in Wales changed this year to include diverse experiences of people belonging to ethnic minorities.

And if other parts of the UK followed suit, Blackman suggested, it would help address racism.

“Hopefully, we can get past this nonsense of people saying you should go back to where you came from and so forth, which I still get when I mention this subject,” she said.

“Let’s talk about the full history, embrace it warts and all, so that we can learn from it.”

The Department for Education did not provide a response to Blackman’s comments.

But it says the current curriculum in England gives teachers the freedom and flexibility to include black voices and experiences.

The Scottish government says its curriculum provides opportunities to teach black history all year round, if teachers want to.

Best known for young-adults’ series Noughts and Crosses, recently turned into a BBC drama, Blackman’s work has played a significant role in diversifying children’s literature over the past 30 years, exploring race and identity issues.

Her new memoir has been published through the rapper Stormzy’s brand, Merky books, created to increase representation in literature.

There had been progress, Blackman said, but there remained room for improvement.

“We still need more books from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, working-class authors and books from and about neuro-divergent children,” she said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/education-63291527

Malorie Blackman – Just Sayin’: My Life in Words, 15 October – 23 November 2022

Malorie Blackman’s books have shaped British literature and inspired a generation of readers and writers – now, she’s sharing her own story.

At these live events, Blackman discusses her long-awaited autobiography, Just Sayin’, taking us on an inspiring journey back to her childhood, to the precise moment she fell in love with words.

At her event at Southbank Centre, Malorie will be in conversation with author, journalist and TV presenter Candice Brathwaite to share how she gravitated to imaginary worlds and realms to escape her complicated childhood.

Eighty-two rejection letters later, with numerous accolades, and over 60 books published, Malorie Blackman has spent her life proving people wrong and writing words to encourage every generation to dream bigger and bigger.

Just Sayin’ is an ode to the younger Malorie, and all the disconnected dreamers like her, as she shares the darker moments that led to her status as a world-renowned author and inspirational writer.

Don’t miss the chance to hear her, as she shares her own life lessons, the impetus behind her biggest books, and a few writing tips too!

Malorie Blackman’s books include the Noughts & Crosses series, Thief and a science-fiction thriller, Chasing the Stars.

Many of her books have also been adapted for stage and television, including a BAFTA-winning BBC production of Pig-Heart Boy and a stage adaptation by Sabrina Mahfouz of Noughts & Crosses. There is also a major BBC production of Noughts & Crosses, with Roc Nation (Jay-Z’s entertainment company) curating the soundtrack as executive music producer. In 2008, she received an OBE for her services to children’s literature, and between 2013 and 2015, she was the Children’s Laureate.

Presented in partnership with Southbank Centre.

Book Launch Dates

• Saturday 15th October 2022, 6:30 PM: Cheltenham Literature Festival
• Saturday 22nd October 2022, 7pm: Bradford Grammer School
• Wednesday 26th October 2022,7.30pm: Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre
• Wednesday 9th November 2022, 7.30pm: Christ Church, Bath
• Wednesday 23rd November 2022, 7pm: British Library, London

https://www.penguin.co.uk/events/malorie-blackman-just-sayin-live

Malorie Blackman: ‘If I’m only known for Noughts and Crosses, I’m OK with that’

About 10 years ago, Malorie Blackman was touring schools and libraries across the country, speaking to teenage book lovers, when she started to notice something strange. By this point, she was already one of the most successful children’s authors in the UK, her culture-shifting young adult series Noughts + Crosses having cemented her status as one of Britain’s best loved authors. She was Children’s Laureate, too. And yet, she sometimes got a frosty reception – not from the kids, but from the teachers, librarians and writers who didn’t welcome the presence of a black author who wrote about black characters.

“A librarian told me before I went to speak to the children: ‘Don’t expect to sell many books because the kids are mainly white,’” the 60-year-old recalls. “We sold out. Children and teens don’t operate in that close-minded way unless they are taught to. They actually want to learn about people who are different. I knew I could write for them if only I could get past the gatekeepers. You have to keep going.”

First released in 2001 and set in the dystopian world of Albion, the six-part series imagines a kind-of futuristic Britain segregated by colour – but not as you might expect. In this world, the inferior Noughts are white, and the powerful Crosses are black, with societal and racial norms inverted in every way.

The story focuses on one lovestruck couple, Nought Callum and Sephy, the latter of whom hails from a powerful Cross family. The books are smart and gripping, with political messages and twists and turns, but at their core they examine the behaviour of people – what motivates us to do the things we do; love, betrayal, belonging.

Success didn’t come easy for Blackman. Speaking to me from her home office in Bromley, south London, she recalls rejection letter after rejection letter. She had quit a job in computer science to pursue her dream, supported by her husband at the time. It proved difficult to break into the homogenous male-dominated world of publishing. When she did manage to land a book deal, it was hard for her to keep a publisher. They doubted her ability to sell more.

She proved them wrong, 70 times over. And now, Noughts + Crosses has been made into a pacy TV show, the second series of which begins on BBC One tomorrow. It’s an “amazing” process, she says, seeing her characters brought to life on screen. “Sometimes I have to pinch myself,” she adds, smiling. “As an author, it’s a dream.”

Series one ended on a dramatic cliffhanger, with Callum (played on screen by Jack Rowan) and Sephy (Masali Baduza) on the run from an underground Nought liberation group of which Callum was also a part – while series two will take on elements from Blackman’s second book in the series, Knife Edge, and draw Sephy and Callum’s love story to an epic conclusion. Of the sometimes-tricky adaptation process authors endure when selling the rights to their work, Blackman is honest.

“Sometimes production companies pay you ‘go away’ money, and the first time you see your work on-screen is on TV when it’s all changed,” she explains. “But Mammoth [the production company] sent me scripts and invited commentary. They kept me involved at every step of the way.” She was sent the audition tapes of the main actors before they landed the roles. “They quickly became Callum and Sephy once I saw them,” she says. “I’ve never been disappointed.”

Noughts + Crosses was also adapted for an action-packed stage production at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 2019. “With the stage, you have a run, then it’s over,” muses Blackman. “With television, it is always there.”

British-Ghanian director Koby Adom was once again at the helm of this series, and Blackman says he did a “phenomenal job” – especially as filming was interrupted during the pandemic. “Koby really knows how to bring my vision to life,” she says. “He helped me see things differently.”

There are also a host of new faces and characters this time around, such as rapper and comedian Michael Dapaah as Mensah, an influential TV personality who isn’t from the books. Last series, Stormzy featured in a similar made-for-TV role. But Blackman welcomes the changes to her work.

“TV adaptations shouldn’t and can’t be the same as the book. You’ve got to do the best with the medium that you’re in. New characters added a richness and opened the series out, but we’ve kept true to the essence of the book.”

The last series provoked some controversy online. Some corners of the internet derided the BBC for airing a drama in which racial tropes were flipped. Blackman was unbothered. “It’s speculative fiction. That’s the beauty of fiction – you can create alternative worlds. I was asking: ‘If history had taken a different turn, what would Britain look like in the 21st century?’ If people feel threatened by that, it speaks more to them and their concerns than it does to me and my work.”

Blackman’s resilience is one of the reasons she’s enjoyed such a lengthy career. Her ability to empathise with people is another. She loves, as she puts it, “walking in the shoes” of others. “As an author, it’s my job.” And while describing the lives of those who are different from you is often a basic requirement of most fiction writing, the discourse around who gets to tell what stories, and why, has spilled over from the fringes of publishing into mainstream media in recent years.

It is more common than ever to challenge writers who are not from the underrepresented communities they depict in their writing – to check their credentials, as such. Does Blackman agree with this? She pauses. “I’ve read a number of books in the past by white authors that feature a black or gay character, and I’ve thought the writer must never have spoken to a black or gay person. But if every author was to stay in their lane, there would be no space for stepping outside of it, no space for creativity. I don’t say, ‘Only black people can write about this, or that.’”

Blackman is nuanced as ever. “With my writer’s hat on, I think it’s about getting the story right,” she says. “But as a black woman I would ask: ‘Why is this person telling this story and why do they feel the need to? Are they taking up space where they shouldn’t be?’” Publishing has become a little more diverse in recent years, a change Blackman very much welcomes – but she believes there’s still a long way to go. “We need more authentic voices telling their own stories – but it’s also boring if we say: ‘I only want to see myself in fiction.’”

What’s next for Blackman? Writing for adults, it seems. There’s a crime thriller in the works, and her autobiography comes out later this year. Writing about herself, she’s learned “that the things I went through as a child have formed me as an adult. Writing is very therapeutic for me. I never started to be successful, I started because I wanted to share stories to entertain and for people to enjoy. I still want that.”

As for Noughts + Crosses, “Callum and Sephy have been living inside my head for the best part of 20 years”, Blackman says. Is she ready to move on? “Yes very much so. It’s time to work on something new.” She laughs. “But if I’m only known for Noughts + Crosses in my career, I’m OK with that.”

Noughts + Crosses begins on Tuesday 26 April at 10.40pm on BBC One. The full series will be available to stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/malorie-blackman-interview-noughts-and-crosses-tv-series-bbc-1590598

Patrice Lawrence: ‘Until my thirties, I always wrote white characters’

The award-winning author tells of her respect for Malorie Blackman, and the book she wishes was around when she was young

Where are you now and what can you see?

I am in a Premier Inn at Glasgow Airport, because I really am glamour. I can see a car park and a motorway bypass. I’ve had some lovely school visits for the Paisley Book Festival but my plane home has been cancelled because of a storm.

What are you currently reading?

The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth and Other Curiosities from the History of Medicine by Thomas Morris, for research. (People put what, where? Good grief.) Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tolá Okogwu for fun. All those childhood years wishing my hair was straight and swishy and could be tamed by L’Oréal Studio products… I wish this book had been around then.

Who is your favourite author and why do you admire them?

Malorie Blackman because, until my thirties, I always wrote white characters. The only Black characters I had seen in children’s books were racist stereotypes. Malorie placed Black children at the heart of UK children’s stories. It changed me and helped me find my own voice.

Describe the room where you usually write…

Until a few years ago, it was the top deck of the 38 bus or the overground to New Cross on the way to work. I now write at a small desk in a bedroom overlooking some scaffolding.

Which fictional character most resembles you?

I have a soft spot for Peter Grant from Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London books. I am neither young, in the police, nor a wizard, but I identify with his nerdiness.

Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

My daughter’s paternal grandma, Hilary. She’s had to contend with any number of challenges – and still does – but she is generous, kind and makes me laugh.

Rat by Patrice Lawrence has been longlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal. The shortlist for the Yoto Carnegie Greenaway Awards 2022 will be announced on 16 March. carnegiegreenaway.org.uk 

https://inews.co.uk/culture/books/patrice-lawrence-until-my-thirties-i-always-wrote-white-characters-1509460

Malorie Blackman on seeing her sci-fi novel about a pig heart transplant come true

When the children’s author wrote Pig Heart Boy in the late 1990s about a boy who has revolutionary surgery she knew that it might be possible one day

What some call science fiction, I prefer to call science possible or sometimes science probable. One branch of sci-fi is based on imagined technological or scientific advances, and major social or environmental changes. It was that branch that I embraced when I wrote Pig Heart Boy. I loved the idea of exploring xenotransplantation through the eyes of Cameron, a 13-year-old boy with a bad heart who just wants to live. I found the whole notion of transplanting organs from one species into another fascinating and the perfect subject matter for a children’s book.

Now I hasten to add that I’m not a scientist or expert on xenotransplantation, nor do I claim to be. I’m a layperson with a love of science who occasionally reads science magazines. My approach was from an author’s angle, spending months on research before writing a single word.

So where did I get the idea? Whenever I attend a literary or school event, that question is invariably asked. For Pig Heart Boy, the answer is simple. Back in the mid 1990s, I read a newspaper article written by a doctor who speculated that we would eventually have to turn to xenotransplantation as a possible solution to the lack of human organ donors. The article considered the pros and cons of mechanical hearts versus xenotransplantation, and suggested that for xenotransplantation to be successful, gene editing would have to be employed. This would mean the introduction of human DNA into animal embryos to reduce the chance of organ rejection. For the recent pig heart transplant that took place on 7 January, scientists also altered 10 genes in the donor pig, again to lessen the chance of the heart being rejected.

And if the bio-sealed environment in which the pigs live allows them to lead a reasonable free-range life, does that mitigate the fact that these genetically modified animals are being purposely bred as organ donors? In the case of heart transplants, for a human to live a pig must die. Of course, every year approximately 10 million pigs are bred and slaughtered in the UK for their meat alone.

When I read that article in the 1990s, it left my mind buzzing with questions. What were the ramifications? Do we really have the right to treat animals as mere organ repositories for humans? Is it OK because they are already farmed for food? So I headed to my nearest bookshop and bought all the books I could on heart transplants in particular, and transplant operations in general.

I’ve found questions are one of the best places to start from when writing a novel. In my story Cameron, who needs a heart transplant, knows he is unlikely to see his next birthday unless he receives one, but he is a long way down the waiting list. When a genetically modified pig’s heart is offered by a pioneering doctor, Cameron decides to go for it – and his new heart completely changes his life in unexpected ways.

Now some people might think that the subject matter is not suitable for children. I completely disagree. As a children’s author, it never ceases to amaze me how some adults underestimate what subject matter will interest and stimulate children and teens. I wanted to write a story that provided no right or wrong answers, but which would provide food for thought and discussion. A story that would allow the reader to walk in Cameron’s shoes for a while and think about what decisions they would make and how they would react if they too were faced with his dilemma. I believe the best stories encourage children to think for themselves.

Fictional stories that explore new ideas when it comes to STEM subjects also have a part to play in enriching our children’s reading and learning. Various studies have shown that reading fiction enhances our children’s ability to grasp new concepts and as such has cross-curriculum benefits. Pig Heart Boy was my attempt to incorporate science possible into a believable, thought-provoking story.

So now that science fiction has become science fact, do I feel that maybe the time is right to return to Cameron and his family in a sequel? Watch this space …

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/25/malorie-blackman-on-seeing-her-sci-fi-novel-about-a-pig-heart-transplant-come-true

Adeola curates star-studded anthology celebrating Black joy for Two Hoots

Two Hoots has signed a star-studded illustrated anthology “celebrating Black joy in a kaleidoscope of different ways”, curated by illustrator Dapo Adeola with a foreword from Patrice Lawrence.

Aimed at readers aged 11 and over, the collection of new stories, poems and essays is called Joyful Joyful and features 40 contributors including authors Malorie Blackman, Dorothy Koomson, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Koleka Putuma, Jeffrey Boakye, Trish Cooke and Alex Wheatle. The illustrator line-up includes Ken Wilson Max, Denzell Dankwah, Dorcas Magbadelo, Kofi Ofosu, Rahana Dariah and Jess Nash.

Two Hoots said: “A young girl who wants to be a boxer like her hero, Muhammed Ali; an ode to South African children’s games; a message from a future world beyond race; and memories of making Jollof rice for the first time, along with a simple recipe, will all feature within the book.”

World rights were acquired by senior editor Helen Weir from Sallyanne Sweeney at MMB Creative. Rights for individual stories and illustrations were bought from individual agents, authors and artists.

Adeola said: “When I entered the UK children’s publishing world in 2018 one of the first things I noticed was the scarcity of Black authors and illustrators within it. Not only were there very few authors, but there were only two Black British illustrators on the scene, with myself being counted as one of them even though I was unpublished at the time.

“I immediately set about trying to find more talent which resulted in the pitching of this anthology back in 2019. I wanted to create an opportunity for the many joyful and different voices and stories within the Black diaspora to be told and heard by members of the same diaspora. As I grew, so too did the concept, to the point where it’s now become this beautiful, colourful and multi-layered book of discovery and wonder that gives an insight into how varied our storytelling talents are within the global Black diaspora. To say I’m proud of what we’ve put together here would be an understatement.”

Weir added: “We are publishing this stunning collection with the intention of showcasing many of the astonishingly talented Black artists and writers working today in the UK and across the world, in this richly illustrated treasure of a book.

“I first met Dapo back in 2018 when he joined the Macmillan Children’s Books list to illustrate My Dad Is a Grizzly Bear (written by Swapna Haddow) and we went on to collaborate on an event for aspiring Black British illustrators, so it’s a real pleasure to now be able to bring Dapo’s vision to the Two Hoots list with this unique, ambitious anthology, and to get the opportunity to work with such a wealth of incredible artists and writers is a huge privilege.”

Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, m.d. at Macmillan Children’s Books, commented: “We are really proud to be working with Dapo Adeola on this new anthology where he brings together such a wide range of brilliant new and established voices in one book, alongside engaging and impactful illustrations. This is the perfect book for children and young readers to dip into and enjoy over and over again, and an essential for every home and school library.”

Joyful Joyful will be published in hardback in autumn 2022.

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/adeola-curates-illustrated-star-studded-anthology-celebrating-black-joy-two-hoots-1298248

Revisited: Britain’s rich history of black literature

This week we are revisiting some of our favourite episodes from 2021. This episode was first broadcast on 18 October.

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests of the past 18 months, black authors rocketed to the top of bestseller lists in fiction and non-fiction. It prompted a reckoning in the publishing industry, as elsewhere, about how much talent was being overlooked and how they could diversify their offering. For years, work by black authors was often missed off the major prize shortlists and the book festival circuit.

Joining Nosheen Iqbal to discuss the rich history of black literature are three acclaimed authors: Ben Okri, Candice Carty-Williams and Caleb Azumah Nelson.

They discuss the way they were taught literature from an exclusively white syllabus growing up and their different routes to becoming successful authors, as well as the future of black writing and the controversies around who can tell stories about black experiences. Finally, they give us their recommended picks for your next big read.

All the books mentioned in this podcast:

Ben Okri – Every Leaf a Hallelujah

Candice-Carty Williams – Empress & Aniya

Caleb Azumah-Nelson – Open Water

Ben Okri – The Famished Road

Candice Carty-Williams – Queenie

Chinua Achebe – Things Fall Apart

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o – Weep not, Child

Buchi Emecheta – Second Class Citizen

Malorie Blackman – Noughts and Crosses

Margaret Busby – Daughters of Africa

Kayo Chingonyi – A Blood Condition

Kayo Chinognyi – Kumukanda

Raymond Antrobus – All the Names Given

Vanessa Onwuemezi – Dark Neighbourhood

https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/dec/27/revisited-britains-rich-history-of-black-literature-podcast

One in five shortlisted authors for top UK literary prizes in 2020 were black

Racial diversity has gradually increased, after no black authors were shortlisted in four of the years between 1996 and 2009

More than a fifth of the authors shortlisted for British literary prizes last year were black, a turnaround for an industry in which no black authors were shortlisted in four of the years between 1996 and 2009.

In 1996, there was not a single black author shortlisted in prize shortlists analysed by the Guardian, but that figure jumped to 21% in 2020.

The gradual improvement in diversity of shortlists follows years of anger and frustration with Britain’s publishing industry, which has been criticised for failing to address racial inequalities.

The backlash against the lack of diversity in UK publishing intensified during last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, which were the largest anti-racist mobilisations in British history.

The Guardian looked at the racial diversity of the shortlist of eight leading literary prizes between 1996 and 2020: the Booker prize, Women’s prize for fiction, Folio prize, Orwell book prize, Baillie Gifford, International Dylan Thomas prize, Carnegie medal and Costa book awards (encompassing Costa first novel award, Costa novel award, Costa biography award, Costa poetry award and Costa children’s award).

Overall, black authors made up 6% of shortlisted authors in the UK’s top literary prizes in the past 25 years. Over the same 25-year period, black Britons made up 3.1% of shortlisted nominees.Advertisement

The percentage of black and minority ethnic (BAME) authors increased from 4.65% in 1996 to 34.25% in 2020.

Between 1996 and 2020, there were 1,357 entries, of which 82 were black authors (7.1%). In the years 1996, 2001, 2002 and 2009 there were no black authors shortlisted across any of the prizes. The 2009 shortlists did not include the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Folio Prize.

The analysis demonstrates that disparities remain between prizes, with some awards announcing more diverse shortlists than others.

The most diverse prize in terms of black entries was the Dylan Thomas Prize, the leading prize for young writers, with black authors representing 15.28% of the shortlist. The prize was also the most diverse for BAME authors, making up 29.17% of shortlisted entries.

The least diverse prize for BAME entries was the Carnegie medal, where just 6% of those shortlisted were BAME authors.

The Carnegie medal, the UK’s oldest children’s book award, was criticised for its lack of diversity in 2018.

Between 1996 and 2017, Malorie Blackman was the only black author shortlisted for the prize out of 150 authors. Between 2018 and 2021, having made an effort to increase racial diversity, black authors made up 37.5% of shortlisted nominees.

In 2015, the novelists Sunny Singh and Nikesh Shukla launched the Jhalak prize, to be awarded annually to a writer of colour with the book of the year, after backlash against the lack of diversity in prize nominations.

Singh advised people to be cautious about the findings. She called for a breakdown on how many of the shortlisted BAME authors were British or longstanding residents, and for further analysis on how many went on to win the award.

She said: “The Carnegie medal to this day, 84 years down the line, has still not managed to be awarded to a black British writer or a British writer of colour. What’s going on?

“I think the problem is that as long as the publishing industry and the literary establishment sees inclusion as a problem, sees equity as a problem, on whichever axis, not just race, gender, sexuality, class, and disability … we will not move past the superficial thing of a kind of tokenism where it’s the boxes are ticked, and then they can move on.”Advertisementhttps://bff24b0440b32cc3ebb4e5722b2d0a43.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

She added, however, that the past year had felt like a “watershed moment” for tackling racial inequalities in the industry. “It just feels like there’s a lot more of us speaking up and speaking out, just pushing in the same direction and doing so publicly than they were even five years ago.”

After the protests in June 2020, Bernardine Evaristo and Reni Eddo-Lodge became the first black British women to top the UK’s fiction and nonfiction paperback charts. The then newly formed Black Writers’ Guild (BWG) wrote an open letter airing concerns that British publishers were “raising awareness of racial inequality without significantly addressing their own”.

In that same year, the Booker prize announced its most racially diverse shortlist to date. Evaristo became the first black British writer to win the award, which she shared with Margaret Atwood.

Methodology

The Guardian researched every individual listed, looking at pictures and references of how each author identifies. In cases where a person’s ethnicity was unclear, further checks were carried out to determine how the author said they identified, which may include speaking to the author in question.

The overall proportion of black authors – 6.2% – is based on the number of nominees meaning the same author could be counted more than once. The equivalent figure for the number of individual black authors is 6.5%.

Between 1996 and 2020, some of the individual years within this period did not feature every prize listed, as some did not run in certain years.

Books that were double-authored were counted as one author, as none of the books that featured double authorship had authors from different

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/01/shortlisted-authors-uk-literary-prizes-black-diversity

Blackman and Adeola collaborate on ‘timeless’ picture book

Malorie Blackman, author of the bestselling Noughts & Crosses series, and Dapo Adeola, illustrator of the Waterstones Book Prize winning picture book Look Up!, are collaborating on a picture book: We’re Going to Find the Monster. 

Out with Puffin this September, the book follows a brother and sister as their imaginations transform their home into a wild wonderland, taking them on an epic adventure. PRH Children’s describes it as “full of funny, relatable characters” and “a contemporary celebration of creativity, fantasy and family, with a clever twist in its tail”.

Editorial director Joe Marriott acquired world rights in the text from Hilary Delamere at The Agency and the illustrations from Sallyanne Sweeney at MMB Creative. The news was shared on Tuesday (26th January) in a live webinar presenting PRH Children’s highlights for the year ahead, attended by more than 300 people. 

Marriott said: “It’s long been my dream to work on a picture book with legend Malorie Blackman. And to have the chance to pair her words with Dapo Adeola’s incredible artwork is frankly mind-blowing. This timeless story about how imagination can make the everyday extraordinary is destined to become a must-have for every child’s bookshelf. We’re also thrilled that this book will contribute to the growing number of picture books featuring Black characters front and centre.”

Design manager Monica Whelan said: “At Puffin we knew that Dapo was a star from the moment we saw early illustrations from his Waterstones-Prize-winning debut, Look Up! Malorie Blackman’s text is such a pleasure to read aloud and Dapo is the perfect illustrator to help her characters jump from the page – Malorie and Dapo are a dream team!” 

Blackman commented: “I am thrilled to be working with Dapo Adeola on our picture book, We’re Going to Find the Monster. He has brought such ideas, life and joy to my story, for which I’m truly grateful. I’ve long been a huge admirer of his work so it’s a dream come true to be working with him on our first collaboration together. I sincerely hope it won’t be our last.”

On the pairing, Adeola said: “I’m gonna need someone to pinch me because I’m still low-key dreaming. I’m still very much at the beginning of my career and I get to not only work on a picture book with one of the most iconic people in the literary world, but also one of the most amazing people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Malorie’s magic can be felt in every word written in this book, and I’m honoured that I get to help bring them to life as we introduce her words to a whole new generation of children.”

Adeola also announced his own author debut picture book with Puffin, Hey You!, which will be an inspirational, lyrical and personal exploration of race. As an active advocate for Black illustrative talent, his book will contain artwork from 18 Black illustration talents, alongside Adeola’s own work, to help bring the story to life. The book is scheduled for June 2021.

The final instalment of the Noughts & Crosses series, Endgame, is coming from Blackman in summer 2021, which marks the 20th anniversary of the first book in the YA series.

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/blackman-and-adeola-collaborate-timeless-picture-book-celebrating-imagination-1234260#