Malorie Blackman

An award-winning British author and dramatist - described by the Times as a ‘national treasure’ - Malorie Blackman is a major voice in children’s publishing, holding the post of Waterstones Children’s Laureate from 2013 to 2015. She is best-known for her bestselling novels Noughts & Crosses series (featuring the novels Noughts and Crosses, Knife Edge, Checkmate and Double Cross), an inverted exploration of racial prejudice which follows two teenagers, Callum and Sephy, as they navigate a world where black people are the ruling Crosses and whites the subjugated noughts. In 2019 Blackman returned to the world of Noughts & Crosses in Crossfire, published in August that year.

Blackman’s work straddle ages and genres and she has also written for stage and television, including writing scripts for the classic children’s television series Byker Grove. Her other books include Pig Heart Boy, Thief, Cloud Busting, Boys Don’t Cry and Chasing the Stars.