Patrice Lawrence named children's laureate until 2028

Patrice Lawrence named children's laureate until 2028

Author Patrice Lawrence has been appointed as the new Waterstones children’s laureate, a role she will hold until 2028. During a ceremony on Tuesday, July 7, at the Barbican Centre in London, the outgoing laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce presented Lawrence with a bespoke silver laureate medal. The event was hosted by broadcaster and poet Lemn Sissay.

Managed by the reading charity BookTrust and sponsored by Waterstones, the title is awarded biannually to a distinguished illustrator or writer. Lawrence, who was born in Brighton and currently resides in Hastings, succeeds Cottrell-Boyce. Other past laureates include Sir Quentin Blake, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Dame Julia Donaldson, Malorie Blackman, and Joseph Coelho.

Lawrence plans to use her two-year tenure to address the isolation and "fragmentation" of the modern world. She aims to highlight how shared and sociable reading can help communities "connect and cohere."

"I will champion the power of books to make us feel like we belong, and shared stories as a tool for bringing people together,"

Patrice Lawrence, children's laureate, via BBC

The 59-year-old author intends to build an evidence base regarding the impact of literature on the lives of children of prisoners, refugee children, and those in care. Lawrence believes that stories allow readers to explore complex emotions and unfamiliar subjects safely, helping vulnerable children feel seen, understood and most importantly, valued.

Diana Gerald, co-chief executive at BookTrust, stated that the appointment provides a much-needed voice to the vulnerable children pushed to the edge of our society. Gerald noted that the charity will support Lawrence in exploring how storytelling can build relationships, strengthen wellbeing, and nurture community connections across England, particularly during the National Year of Reading.

A literary journey rooted in experience

Lawrence's work often focuses on contemporary Black British life and foster care, themes she developed from her own upbringing. Born to Trinidadian parents in Sussex, she spent from the age of four months to four years in a privately fostered home with a white working-class family in Brighton. She credited her foster mother with promoting her curiosity and creativity by signing her up for a library.

Her personal history also includes the trauma of having a biological father who was imprisoned for forging a cheque, later becoming unhoused and alcohol-dependent before dying in a fire in a squat in his 40s. Lawrence has used these experiences in her school visits to show children they are not alone.

Despite her later success, Lawrence admitted that she did not initially consider a career as a writer because the books she read were by authors who were white and dead. She noted that she wrote white characters until she was 32, having internalized the idea that she could not write Black people until she encountered the work of Malorie Blackman.

Lawrence’s breakthrough came with her debut young adult novel, Orangeboy, published in 2016. The thriller follows 16-year-old Marlon, whose life unravels after a date ends in tragedy and he is hunted by gangs. The book won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Children’s Fiction and The Bookseller’s YA Book Prize, and it was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award.

Since then, she has published 16 books across various genres, including:

• Needle
• People Like Stars
• Is That Your Mama?
• Granny Came Here on the Empire Windrush
• Our Story Starts in Africa
• The Elemental Detectives

Addressing societal divides

Lawrence has spoken about the urgency of her role in the face of rising racist rhetoric and riots on UK streets, including recent events in Belfast. As a child of immigrants and a Black woman, she expressed that such rhetoric makes her feel less safe, leading her to question how such an environment affects children.

Kate Edwards, chair of the judging panel, described Lawrence's writing as creating a safe space for young people to explore difficult issues relevant to their daily lives. Nick Campbell, children’s campaign manager at Waterstones, described her novels as irresistibly compelling.

Beyond her current appointment, Lawrence was awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2021 and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2023. She distinguished the two honors by stating that while the MBE recognized her past, the laureateship is very much about the future.

Throughout her term until 2028, Lawrence intends to collaborate with adults and children from diverse backgrounds to tell their stories and celebrate the "unsung heroes" who nurture reading communities.