Author Profiles
Malorie Blackman
Malorie Blackman with Brooke Weston students
First book was, Not So Stupid! And was published by Livewire Books for Teenagers in November 1990 and since then she has written over 50 books, including Noughts & Crosses, Pig-Heart Boy which was turned into a BAFTA winning serial, Hacker and Whizziwig among others. She has also written TV scripts, including a number of Byker Grove episodes, Whizziwig episodes and Pig Heart Boy (the first 4 episodes) as well as a couple of original dramas for CITV and BBC Education. She wrote a play for the Polka Theatre called The Amazing Birthday which was performed in February and March 2002. Malorie Blackman is also a graduate of the National Film and Television School, and divides her time between book and script writing.
Awards and prizes
- Smarties Silver Book Award 2004 (Category 6-8) - Cloud Busting
- BBC Big Read Top 100 Title (Number 61) - Noughts and Crosses
- FCBG Children's Book Award 2002 - Noughts and Crosses
- Sheffield Children's Book of the Year Award 2002 - Noughts and Crosses
- Wirral Children's Paperback of the Year Award 2003 - Noughts and Crosses
- Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award 2002 - Noughts and Crosses
- Fantastic Fiction Award 2004 - Noughts and Crosses
- Stockport Children's Book of the Year Award 2000 - Key Stage 4 - Tell Me No Lies
- BAFTA for the Best Children's Drama 2000 - Pig-Heart Boy
- Wirral Children's Paperback of the Year Award 1999 - Pig-Heart Boy
Quotes
I have lots of interests and use some of them in my writing. I love going to the cinema and the theatre. I like comedies and dramas on the telly - dramas seem to be getting much more scarce. So-called reality shows don't do much for me. BRING BACK DRAMAS!!! (And preferably something else besides medical or detective dramas).
I love, love, love music. I'm predominantly a jazz-funk/soul head but I like anything that doesn't give me a headache!! At the moment, I'm into Usher, Marques Houston, Jill Scott, Frank McComb and Joe (thanks Brian for introducing me to his music!). Great stuff!! If I could have one selfish wish in this world, I'd wish I could sing.
I'm currently learning to play the piano and I used to play the saxophone. My number one favourite activity however is reading - natch! To be honest, I read more children's books than adult books, because I love stories with a strong, imaginative plot and interesting characters.
Some of the books I've read recently that I loved are Holes by Louis Sacher, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In the Night time by Mark Haddon and The Tinder Box by Minette Walters. I'll read anything by Alan Gibbons, Catherine R. Johnson, Minette Walters, Benjamin Zephaniah and James Berry to name but a very few, as they're such fantastic writers.
Selected Bibliography
- Noughts and Crosses
- Tell Me No Lies
- Dead Gorgeous
- Thief!
- Dangerous Reality
- Hostage
- Checkmate
- Knife Edge
- Noughts and Crosses
