Malorie Blackman, Melvin, Super-heroes and Klingon! In her first ...

Malorie Blackman, Melvin, Super-heroes and Klingon!
In her first public event since being appointed Laureate, Malorie joined
teenage author Melvin Burgess to talk about the 'adult' in young adult fiction.
Last night I had the distinct pleasure of meeting one of my heroines although secretly
I was a bit fearful, you know what they say about meeting your heroes/heroines you
are more than likely to end up feeling severely disappointed (Colin Jackson please
note) Well I am happy to report that Malorie did not disappoint! I found her warm,
enthusiastic, with a real passion for her writing and a genuine appreciation for all her
contemporaries.
Melvyn Burgess was also in attendance. Malorie and Melvin were interviewed by
Guardian journalist, Lucy Mangan.

Lucy Mangan is a columnist and features writer and the author of Hopscotch &
Handbags: the truth about being a girl.
Now as I said, I was a jabbering fool in the presence of Malorie, at one point I was so
fearful of speaking to her, that I just knew I would sound so incoherent I would end
up speaking Klingon.
My sole ambition was to get Ashley Grey engaged in a dialogue, with her, and for
Ashley to do what she does best, which was to present the perfect pitch, regarding
working with our school. As Ashley and I got closer to meeting Malorie, I whispered
to Ashley, “It’s now or never, fortune favours the bold, go for it girl”!
The one thing I think the audience picked up and related to was Malorie’s and
Melvyn’s commitment to writing books for young people. As both said and it’s a
memory I can definitely relate to.
At primary age there was and still is a great litany of children’s authors for ages 5-11,
but back in the day as one got into their teens, it was a giant leap to adult and totally
inappropriate fiction, such as Jilly Cooper’s “Riders” or Jackie Collins “The Stud”!
We also got on to the subject of popular fiction such as Harry Potter, the Hunger
games, and The Twilight series, their relevance to teenagers, and the negativity of
Hollywood in relation to less successful authors, basically as an author you have to
have a sure fire hit on your hand selling books by the bucket load, before Hollywood
invests, and even when they do, the first thing Hollywood movers and shakers do is
to try to relieve you of your rights and intellectual property.
Malorie then revealed that she was a huge comic book fan, and when she was
younger she imagined herself as a fully prepared Super-hero, with tights, and slip on
shoes in her bag, waiting for the impending doom of whichever baddie she had
imagined. What an image!
Ashley, Leanne, Melonie and I left the evening fully enthused, and full of laughter, in
short it was a great evening!
Sonia Swaby
Library & Resources Manager