Malorie Blackman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Malorie Blackman OBE, FRSL
Born	Oneta Malorie Blackman (1962-02-08) 8 February 1962 (age 63) Merton, London, England
Occupation	Author
Nationality	British
Education	Thames Polytechnic; National Film and Television School
Genre	Children's literature, science fiction, mystery, thriller and horror; poetry
Notable works	The Noughts and Crosses series
Notable awards	Eleanor Farjeon Award, 2005 PEN Pinter Prize, 2022

Malorie Blackman is a famous British writer. She was born on February 8, 1962. From 2013 to 2015, she was the Children's Laureate, a special role for a children's writer. She writes books and TV shows for kids and young adults.

Malorie Blackman often uses science fiction to explore important social topics. For example, her popular Noughts and Crosses series is set in a made-up version of Britain. It uses this setting to talk about racism and fairness. She has won many awards for her work, including the PEN Pinter Prize in 2022.

Malorie Blackman's Early Life and School

Malorie Blackman was born in London, England, in 1962. She grew up in a big family with four brothers and sisters. Her parents came to Britain from Barbados. Her dad was a bus driver, and her mom worked in a factory.

When Malorie was young, her father left the family. Her mother then raised all five children by herself. At school, Malorie dreamed of becoming an English teacher. But she ended up working as a computer programmer first. She studied at Thames Polytechnic and the National Film and Television School.

Later, Malorie started taking writing classes. In 2019, a college called City Lit created special writing scholarships in her name. These awards help new writers who might not usually get a chance to share their stories.

Malorie Blackman's Writing Career

Malorie Blackman's first book, Not So Stupid!, came out in 1990. It was a collection of scary and science fiction stories for young adults. Since then, she has written over 60 books for children. She also writes scripts for TV shows and plays for the stage. In 2018, she became the first Black writer to work on the popular TV show Doctor Who.

The Noughts & Crosses Series

Malorie Blackman is best known for her award-winning Noughts & Crosses series. The first book came out in 2001. These books explore themes of love, racism, and violence. They are set in a fictional Britain where society is divided.

Malorie explained that she chose the title Noughts & Crosses because it's a game that no one plays after childhood. This is because no one ever truly wins. She wanted to show Black children living their lives and having adventures, just like characters in other books she read as a child.

She decided to write directly about racism. She even used some of her own experiences in the books. For example, she remembered needing a plaster (band-aid) that was only designed for white skin. The Noughts & Crosses series was very popular. It was even listed as No. 61 on the BBC's "The Nation's Best-Loved Book" survey in 2003.

Awards and Recognition

Malorie Blackman has received many honors for her writing. In 2008, she was given the OBE award. This is a special award from the British Queen. In 2009, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Her books and TV scripts have won more than 15 awards. Her books have been translated into over 15 languages, including Spanish, German, and Japanese.

In June 2013, Malorie Blackman became the new Children's Laureate. This role involves promoting reading and children's literature. During her time as Laureate, she helped start the first UK Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC).

In 2022, she won the PEN Pinter Prize. She was the first author of children's and young adult books to receive this important award.

In late 2023, an exhibition called Malorie Blackman: The Power of Stories opened at the British Library. It celebrated her career and showed how her books connect to social issues and Black activism.

Malorie Blackman's Personal Life

Malorie Blackman lives in Kent, England, with her husband Neil and daughter Elizabeth. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, writing music, playing computer games, and writing poetry.

In 2014, Malorie joined other writers to support the "Let Books Be Books" campaign. This campaign wanted to stop children's books from being labeled as "for girls" or "for boys."

In 2019, the musician Stormzy mentioned Malorie Blackman in his song "Superheroes." She also appeared in his "Mel Made Me Do It" music video in 2022.

Her memoir, Just Sayin': My Life In Words, was published in 2022. She said it was the hardest thing she had ever written because it was all true.

Malorie Blackman's Works

Books for Young Adults and Children

• Not So Stupid!: Incredible Short Stories, 1990
• Trust Me, 1992
• Words Last Forever, 1998
• The Noughts & Crosses series:
  • Noughts & Crosses, 2001
  • Callum (novella), 2012
  • An Eye for an Eye (novella), 2003
  • Knife Edge, 2004
  • Checkmate, 2005
  • Double Cross, 2008
  • Nought Forever (novella), 2019
  • Crossfire, 2019
  • Endgame, 2021
• The Stuff of Nightmares, 2007
• Boys Don't Cry, 2010
• Unheard Voices: An Anthology of Stories and Poems, edited by Malorie Blackman, 2007
• Noble Conflict, 2013
• Chasing the Stars, 2016

Short Stories for Young Adults

• "Humming Through My Fingers" in Shining On: A Collection of Stories, 2006
• Short story in The Crew and Other Teen Fiction

Novels for Children

• Hacker, 1992
• Operation Gadgetman!, 1993
• Jack Sweettooth the 73rd, 1995
• The Space Stowaway, 1995
• Whizziwig, 1995
• Thief!, 1995
• A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E, 1996
• Pig-Heart Boy, 1997
• Animal Avengers, 1999
• Dangerous Reality, 1999
• Don't Be Afraid, 1999
• Forbidden Game, 1999
• Hostage, 1999
• Tell Me No Lies, 1999
• Whizziwig Returns, 1999
• Dead Gorgeous, 2002
• Cloud Busting, 2004
• The Deadly Dare Mysteries, 2005
• Whizziwig and Whizziwig Returns, 2005
• Doctor Who: The Ripple Effect, 2013

Short Stories for Children

• "Contact" in Out of This World: Stories of Virtual Reality, 1997
• Aesop's Fables (retold by Malorie Blackman), 1998
• "Dare to be Different" in Dare to be Different, 1999
• "Peacemaker" in Peacemaker and Other Stories, 1999

Books for New Readers

• The Betsey Biggalow stories:
  • Betsey Biggalow the Detective, 1992
  • Betsey Biggalow is Here!, 1992
  • Hurricane Betsey, 1993
  • Magic Betsey, 1994
  • Betsey's Birthday Surprise, 1996
• The Girl Wonder series:
  • Girl Wonder and the Terrific Twins, 1991
  • Girl Wonder's Winter Adventures, 1992
  • Girl Wonder to the Rescue, 1994
  • The Amazing Adventures of Girl Wonder, 2003
• The Puzzle Planet adventures:
  • Peril on Planet Pellia, 1996
  • The Mellion Moon Mystery, 1996
  • The Secret of the Terrible Hand, 1996
  • Quasar Quartz Quest, 1996
• The Longman Book Project:
  • Rachel versus Bonecrusher the Mighty, 1994
  • Rachel and the Difference Thief, 1994
  • Crazy Crocs, 1994
• Elaine You're a Brat!, 1991
• My Friend's a Gris-Quok, 1994
• Grandma Gertie's Haunted Handbag, 1996
• Space Race, 1997
• Fangs, 1998
• Snow Dog, 2001
• The Monster Crisp-Guzzler, 2002
• Sinclair, Wonder Bear, 2003

Picture Books

• That New Dress, 1991
• Mrs Spoon's Family, 1995
• Dizzy's Walk, 1999
• Marty Monster, 1999
• I Want a Cuddle!, 2001
• Jessica Strange, 2002
• Contributed to A Christmas Tree of Stories, 1999

Memoir

• Just Sayin': My Life In Words, 2023

Television Scripts

Stage Plays

• The Amazing Rob The Mechanic
• Noughts and Crosses

Radio Scripts

• Noughts and Crosses

Awards for Malorie Blackman's Work

Awards for Her Overall 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"
• 2022, PEN Pinter Prize

Awards for Her 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

For A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E (1997)

• 1997, Stockport Children's Book of the Year Award
• 1997, Stockton-on-Tees Children's Book Award (shortlisted)

For Pig-Heart Boy (1997)

• 1998, Carnegie Medal (shortlist)
• 1998, UKRA Award
• 1999, Wirral Paperback of the Year Award

For Tell Me No Lies (1999)

• 1999, Stockport Children's Book Award (shortlisted)

For Dead Gorgeous (2002)

• 2003, Calderdale Book of the Year (shortlist)

For books in the Noughts & Crosses series

• 2002, Lancashire Children's Book of the Year
• 2002, Red House Children's Book Award
• 2002, Sheffield Children's Book Award
• 2003, Wirral Paperback of the Year Award
• 2004, Fantastic Fiction Award
• 2006, Staffordshire Young People's Book of the Year

For Cloud Busting (2004)

• 2004, Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Silver Award)
• 2005, Redbridge Children's Book Award (shortlist)

For Crossfire (2019)

• 2019, Costa Children's Book Award (Shortlist)

Awards for Television Adaptations

For Pig-Heart Boy

• 2000, BAFTA Best Drama
• 2000, Royal Television Society Award (Children's Drama category)

For the Doctor Who episode "Rosa"

• 2019, Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form), nominated

See also

In Spanish: Malorie Blackman para niños