Challenging Discrimination with Patrice Lawrence & Jason Reynolds

Two megastars of Young Adult literature come together for a special event for teens and schools, exploring class, the justice system and…knitting? New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds introduces his heartfelt urban coming-of-age novel, When I Was the Greatest. He's joined by award-winning writer Patrice Lawrence whose latest teen drama Needle sheds a light on the criminal justice system for young people. What would you do if you found yourself on the wrong side of the law – or the wrong neighbourhood? Discover how these authors help us empathise with their characters and manage to weave warmth and humour into tough narratives. Have your questions ready!

Book Festival News

Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024 Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024
Friday 13 December

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Watch more

Voices from the Past with Patrice Lawrence & Bali Rai Voices from the Past with Patrice Lawrence & Bali Rai Join us for an inspirational live event and discover two exciting stories in children's book publisher Scholastic's new ‘Voices’ series, showcasing some of the diverse, unsung historical figures who arrived on Britain’s shores and made it their home… Strictly Come Writing with Maisie Chan Strictly Come Writing with Maisie Chan From drawing to dim sum, Maisie Chan loves writing her favourite things into her books. During lockdown, she loved to watch Strictly Come Dancing as it made her very happy in an uncertain time. The result is Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu, her second hilarious… Retelling Tales with Joseph Coelho, Juno Dawson & Kiran Millwood Hargrave Retelling Tales with Joseph Coelho, Juno Dawson & Kiran Millwood Hargrave Old stories collide with new in the most recent novels from these prize-winning authors. Be prepared to fall down the rabbit hole with Juno Dawson’s Wonderland, which catapults you into a radical retelling of the Alice in Wonderland story. In The Girl Who… Malorie Blackman at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Malorie Blackman at the Edinburgh International Book Festival One of the UK’s most influential children’s authors, Malorie Blackman brings you the highly anticipated new book in her groundbreaking Noughts & Crosses series, Crossfire. Dealing with racism, politics and terrorism, the series feels as relevant today as… The Bolds Go Green with Julian Clary & David Roberts The Bolds Go Green with Julian Clary & David Roberts Give a hoot and don’t pollute! The Bolds have decided to do their bit for the planet and go green. They’re reducing, reusing and recycling as much as they can. But not all their ideas are welcome – especially when it comes to ‘watering’ the neighbours’… Learning to Love Yourself with William Hussey and Amara Sage Learning to Love Yourself with William Hussey and Amara Sage Join two authors who’ve written whip-smart YA novels with big hearts. In William Hussey’s Broken Hearts and Zombie Parts, budding film director and movie buff Jesse’s world falls apart when he learns that he has to have open heart surgery in weeks. Can he… Steve Antony, Maureen Phillip & Alexandra Strick: Just Be Yourself Steve Antony, Maureen Phillip & Alexandra Strick: Just Be Yourself ‘You can... be brave, be beautiful, be clever, be strong...’ Follow the story of an independent and inspirational group of children as they grow up and discover what they want to be in You Can!, the wonderful new picture book from author Alexandra Strick… Alastair Chisholm & Elle McNicoll: Can Robots Be Friends? Alastair Chisholm & Elle McNicoll: Can Robots Be Friends? The future is coming, and it DEFINITELY includes Artificial Intelligence. But how do we know whether we will be friends with these robots? Will they think or feel things like we do? In their incredible new novels Alastair Chisholm, with Adam-2, and Elle… John Agard & Piet Grobler: A Poem for Our Planet John Agard & Piet Grobler: A Poem for Our Planet Join poet John Agard for a trip into the colourful jungle, with a reading from his glorious new picture book, where you get to meet a playful Coyote and leave with a powerful message about saving our planet. This book is packed with beautiful language… Ming Chen, Wah Chen & Carmen Vela: One Day We Had to Run Ming Chen, Wah Chen & Carmen Vela: One Day We Had to Run In their book Escape, authors Ming Chen and Wah Chen have drawn out powerful true stories of escape from around the world and throughout history. For this event, the authors bring to life two of these stories. The first is the incredible story of Syrian…