Introducing Malorie Blackman, Britian’s Children’s Book Laureate, and woman of color

I missed seeing this woman in PERSON in Edinburgh by a HAIR two summers ago. I read a lot of Malorie Blackman in the UK, and was glad to see some of her work crossing the pond. She’s been a really vocal and tireless children’s lit advocate, and that’s so very needed everywhere, but especially in the UK, I think, where the weight of the history of capital L “litriture” makes it hard for YA and children’s lit to be taken seriously, much less with a positive frame of mind. People tend to think it’s all Enid Blyton still, and “How nice that you write those little books, when are you going to write something worthy?” (Although, post JK Rowling, they’re kind of re-organizing their idea of “worthy.” But not by much.) Lots of cheering going, of course, as the woman herself is a funny, interesting person – and a wholesale Trekkie, which is cool, and, so far, I haven’t read of anyone pearl-clutching and gasping over her being laureated laurel-ed er, nominated. Well done, Britain.