Just Sayin': My Life In Words

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The Monster Crisp-Guzzler (illustrated by Sami Sweeten), Corgi Children's, 2002, ISBN 0-552-54783-2 Not only do we get to see all of that, but more about why she wrote her books too. I was especially interested in hearing more about where her spark for Noughts and Crosses came from and that publication process. In some cases, anger fuelled her, and sometimes it was exclusion and defying the odds, and sometimes imagination... it's also a very true story about perserverance which was reassuring to see from this great author, as someone who is an aspiring author as well.

I just wanted to let other people know that it’s not that I woke up one day and thought, I’m going to be a writer. And – boom! – I was a writer! And – boom! – then I was a children’s laureate! And so on, as if it all landed in my lap. I wrote the autobiography because I just really wanted to talk about the truth of how I got to those moments in my life. I think it says that when I make up my mind to do something, it takes an awful lot to stop me. And I knew I wanted to be a writer. I can’t sing, I can’t dance, I can’t sculpt. I can’t draw to save my life. But I had this thing of wanting to create something, and I found I just love creating stories.

We meet the two art teachers who, according to Stuart, ‘saved his life’. Just like his character Shuggie, he’d lost his own mother to alcohol addiction. He was on the cusp of homelessness, struggling to stay on at school but in just a few years he went from a Glasgow bedsit to the Royal College of Art, and landed in epicentre of New York fashion working for Calvin Klein. All upcoming public events are going ahead as planned and you can find more information on our events blog Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. 7 August 2014 . Retrieved 26 August 2014.

There was a literary feast going on 24/7 and if you were white, you could pull up a chair and have a seat at the table. I was outside the building looking in and watching others gorge themselves. When I read stories such as the Chalet School adventures by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer or C. S. Lewis’s Narnia series, I would imagine myself as the protagonist. Even the fairy stories and myths and legends I read featured no characters of colour.This year sees the publication of Young Mungo, his second, highly anticipated novel, a love story about two teenage boys coming to terms with their queer identity in the sectarian Glasgow of the author’s youth. Through a poverty-riddled adolescence, through first jobs and educational experiences (I was cringing and angry at what a careers adviser had to say), to eventual discovery and d*mned hard work towards a dream, Malorie shows that what you want doesn't just drop into your lap. She's worked hard to learn, to become a master of her craft, to hone skills and earn a reputation and success. Dare to be Different" (illustrated by Jane Ray) in the multi-author collection Dare to be Different, Bloomsbury Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0-7475-4021-7 To reach this entrance, enter the Royal Festival Hall via the Southbank Centre Square Doors. Take the JCB Glass Lift to Level 2 and exit to the Riverside Terrace. Turn right to find the Queen Elizabeth Hall main entrance. is reviewed between 08.30 to 16.30 Monday to Friday. We're experiencing a high volume of enquiries so it may take us