Malorie Blackman is a novelist and scriptwriter. She has written over 60 books for children of all ages, including Noughts & Crosses for young adults, which won the Red House FCBG Children’s Book Award, and Pig-Heart Boy, which was shortlisted for a Carnegie medal and made into a BAFTA award-winning TV series. Her most recent novel, Boys Don’t Cry (2010), explores teenage fatherhood. In 2008 she was awarded an OBE for services to children’s literature.
Q & A
1. What inspires your writing? Do you draw inspiration from other authors?
Anything and everything inspires my writing. Ideas can come from anywhere - conversations, the news, being discreetly nosey, it all helps. I draw inspiration from every good book I've ever read. That's what made me want to become a writer in the first place. Each good book inspires me to do better with my own writing.
2. What was your favourite book as a child?
I loved myths, legends and fairy stories, but if I have to pick just one, I guess it would be The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis as I read that more times than any other book as a child. As a teenager my favourite books were Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
3. Where do you get inspiration for your characters?
People watching, the news, my imagination, observation. To be a writer you have to take an interest in the people and events going on around you.
4. As a parent, do you think you have a role in supporting your child’s literacy? What do you think this is?
I absolutely have a role in supporting my child's literacy. From the time my daughter was 3 weeks old I started reading to her. We'd share picture books and I'd discuss the pictures, the colours, the words, the texture of each book, and anything else I could think of with her. When she was a toddler, we'd regularly visit our local library for story-telling sessions and so she could see vast spaces filled with books. First and foremost, I tried to show my daughter that reading was fun. And it worked because she still loves books and reading.
5. How do you feel about e-readers? Do they help or hinder children’s reading?
E-readers certainly have their place. The fact that e-readers can hold hundreds of ebooks at any one time is a definite plus. Some children find them easier to read than printed books and where a book contains interactive content, they may also be deemed a value-added experience. Unfortunately, there are also children who are embarrassed to be seen reading printed books and e-books may help solve that problem. I think what our children need is both the printed book and e-books. And an e-reader like all tools can help or hinder depending entirely on how and why it is used.
6. One person in six struggles with basic literacy; in your opinion, is enough being done to promote and develop literacy skills?
No. We need to tackle this across all ages and use a number of different strategies to engage and help the one in six who struggle with basic literacy. One size does NOT fit all on this issue. We need to get back to emphasising reading for pleasure with our young children. I don't believe reading made-up words with no meaning or context to test phonics promotes reading for pleasure. Whereas for example, reading Lewis Carroll's The Jabberwocky makes far more sense as it gives context even though the first and last verses are filled with made-up words. And the poem itself is a joy to read aloud.
7. Why have you chosen to support the National Literacy Trust?
Because I absolutely agree with the point and purpose of the National Literacy Trust. Reading opens so many doors, enriches lives and is at its heart an enabler. I have met people who only started to read in their 40s and 50s and the joy it brings to their lives is wonderful to see. Reading inspires confidence, teaches empathy and creates a desire to communicate. Reading provides more life choices. It's not a coincidence that a sizeable proportion of our prison population struggles with their reading.
