‘Taught me to aspire’
“A love of books has opened so many doors for me. Stories have inspired me and taught me to aspire.”
Malorie Blackman is the author of one of my Diversify Your Romance Challenge books this week. So, I wanted to learn more about her. I think if I were British, I’d know her work. For better or for worse, I was born in the States, so I had to teach myself.
Malorie Blackman OBE held the position of Children's Laureate, a prestigious position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field" from 2013 to 2015. As Children’s Laureate, Blackman started the now-annual YA Lit Con (YALC), the first large-scale public literature convention dedicated entirely to teen and young adult books in the UK.
She primarily writes literature and television drama for children and young adults. She uses Afrofuturism to explore social and ethical issues—as in Noughts & Crosses, the book I’m reading this week. (And loving!)
Noughts + Crosses starring Jack Rowan and Masali Baduza is a 2020 British drama television series based on the novel series with very cool production design. Obviously the style change from Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses to BBC’s Noughts + Crosses is to make the savvy consumer aware of the thematic connections between this series and Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet. Don’t you think??
Fine by me! I’m watching season 1 on Peacock this week, too.
In the words of Blackman herself, “I subscribe to the online Urban Dictionary's definition of nerd: 'one whose IQ exceeds his weight'. I'm also keen on the same Urban Dictionary's definition of geek: 'the person you pick on in high school and wind up working for as an adult'. I happily proclaim myself a book nerd/reading geek and proud of it.”
Are you a book nerd? A reading geek?
