Malorie Blackman

Malorie Blackman was born in London in 1962, and has spent most of her life there. She went to Honor Oak Grammar School and then went to Huddersfield where she undertook a course in business studies.

She qualified in Computer Science and followed a successful career in computing, before becoming a writer at the age of 28. Her first published book was Not So Stupid! (1990), a book of short stories. Since then she has written many books and scripts, and her popularity has steadily grown. Her scripts for television include several episodes of Byker Grove, Whizziwig and Pig-Heart Boy, and she has also written original dramas for CITV and BBC Education. Her stage play, The Amazing Birthday, was performed in 2002.

Malorie Blackman's most well-known books for young adults are: Noughts And Crosses (2001); Knife Edge (2004); and Checkmate (2005), which form the Noughts And Crosses trilogy, the tale of two teenagers, Callum and Sephy. In 2004, she also wrote a novel entirely in verse, Cloud Busting (2004), which won a Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Silver Award) the same year. Her latest book is Double Cross.

Fact file

Name: Malorie Blackman

Date of birth: 1962

Place of birth: London

Current Home: Kent

Similar Authors: Jacqueline Wilson, Louise Rennison