Page 49 - Great Elizabethans

NOT SO STUPID
Malorie had always wanted to become an English teacher, but she actually studied computing at college after the school careers adviser told her she shouldn’t try to train as a teacher. She worked as a computer programmer for several years, but then she was drawn like a magnet back to the world of books and stories. She wrote her first book, Not So Stupid!,
a collection of science fiction and horror stories for teenagers, when she was 28.
Though Not So Stupid! was turned down by publishers more than 80 times, it was eventually
published in 1990. After that, there was no stopping Malorie! She went on to write more than 60 books, including Pig Heart Boy, about a boy who needs a heart transplant, Hacker, a mystery thriller, and Cloud Busting, a book told in different kinds of poetry. She also wrote stage plays and scripts for TV shows like Byker Grove and Doctor Who.
Malorie was the eighth Children’s Laureate, between 2013 and
2015. As Laureate, she talked about how important it was for teenagers to read for pleasure, saying that they should read what they enjoy before being forced to dive into “the classics”.
NOUGHTS AND CROSSES
In 2001, her most famous book, Noughts and Crosses, was published. Set in a world where Black people have been “history’s lucky ones”, rather than white people, it imagines what would happen in a world where Black people (‘Crosses’) are more powerful and rich than white ones (‘Noughts’), and if a Nought boy and a Cross girl were to fall in love. Malorie wrote six more books in the series – and Noughts and Crosses is now one of the most-read books for teenagers in the country. Malorie’s books for all ages, from toddlers to teens, have inspired and delighted countless readers – and proved to many kids that brilliant writers are not just white.
Malorie has lots of hobbies. She plays the piano, drums, learns languages, composes music and loves to play World of Warcraft.
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