Noughts and Crosses
Malorie Blackman has written over 70 books for children and young adults, including the Noughts and Crosses series, Thief (1995) and a science-fiction thriller, Chasing the Stars (2016). Many of her books have been adapted for stage and television, including a BAFTA-award-winning BBC production of Pig-Heart Boy (1997) and a Pilot Theatre stage adaptation by Sabrina Mahfouz of Noughts and Crosses. In 2005 Blackman was awarded the Eleanor Farjeon Award for her distinguished contribution to children’s fiction. In 2008 she received an OBE, and between 2013 and 2015 she was the Children’s Laureate. Blackman has written for the Doctor Who series on BBC One, and Crossfire, the fifth novel in her Noughts and Crosses series, was published in summer 2019. In 2020 BBC One aired a major six-part production of Noughts and Crosses, with a soundtrack curated by Roc Nation.
Dr Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is a poet, writer, lyricist and musician. He was born and brought up in Handsworth, Birmingham, which he has called ‘the Jamaican capital of Europe’. His poetry is strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica as well as by his sense of ‘street politics’. In addition to writing poetry, novels, screenplays and stage plays, Zephaniah has also written and presented documentaries for television and radio. He has received 18 honorary doctorates in recognition of his work, and a wing at Ealing Hospital in London has been named after him. Zephaniah lives in Lincolnshire.