Malika Booker facts for kids

Malika Booker (born 1970) is a British writer and poet. Many people see her as a leader in the "spoken word" movement in the UK. Spoken word is like poetry performed out loud, often with rhythm and passion. Malika writes different kinds of stories. These include poetry, plays for the theatre, and even art installations. Her work has been shared in many books and magazines. She has worked with big organizations like the BBC and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

About Malika Booker

Malika Booker was born in London, UK. Her parents came from Guyana and Grenada. She spent her early years growing up in Guyana. When she was 13, she moved back to the UK with her family.

Early Writing Career

Malika started writing and performing poetry while she was at Goldsmiths, University of London. She was studying anthropology there. She also started a poetry group called Malika's Kitchen. Another poet, Nick Makoha, was part of this group.

Her first big book of poems was called Pepper Seed. It came out in 2013. This book was nominated for an award for the best first poetry collection. Malika was also the very first Poet In Residence at the famous Royal Shakespeare Company. This means she was a special poet who worked with the theatre company.

Her Poems and Plays

One of Malika's poems, "Nine Nights", was published in 2016. It was nominated for a special award called the Forward Prize. She has also written for radio shows and for the stage. Her work has been featured in many different collections of writing. These include Bittersweet: Contemporary Black Women’s Poetry and New Daughters of Africa.

Awards and Recognition

Malika Booker has won several important awards for her poetry.

In 2019, she received a Cholmondeley Award. This award is given to poets who have made a great contribution to poetry.

In 2020, Malika won the Forward Prize for "Best Single Poem – Written." She won for her poem "The Little Miracles." She won this same award again in 2023 for her poem "Libation." This made her the first woman ever to win this specific prize twice!

Selected Books

Here are some of the books that feature Malika Booker's work:

• 2007: Breadfruit
• 2013: Pepper Seed
• 2017: Penguin Modern Poets 3: Your Family, Your Body (with Sharon Olds and Warsan Shire)
• 2019: New Daughters of Africa: An international anthology of writing by women of African descent