<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="crosshead">Positive thinking</h2>

Malorie Blackman is one of Britain's greatest writers for children and young adults. Yet her path to glory was long and hard.

Blackman was born in South London. Her parents had immigrated from BarbadosAn island nation in the Caribbean. Most of its inhabitants are the descendants of slaves who were traded under British rule.. As a child she faced racist abuse at school. She remembers being told to "go back to where you came from".

Her family was evicted when she was 13. They lived in a rat-infested homeless shelter. She and her four siblings lived on water and cream crackers.

Books were her escape. Blackman says: "I used to get told off for daydreaming so often, which is ironic, because that's how I make my living!"

Blackman wanted to become an English teacher. Yet a careers advisor told her "Black people don't become English teachers". She became a programmer instead.

As an adult Blackman still faced huge upset. She suffers from sickle cell diseaseA group of inherent disorders that cause unusually shaped red blood cells in sufferers. . After it caused her to collapse, she overheard a doctor say: "She's going to be dead before she's 30".¹

Blackman decided to make every day count. She began writing. It was not easy: she received 82 rejection letters. But she kept trying. "If you hope things can be better," she says, "that's when you try and make things better. Hope is the spark."

Her hope paid off. Throughout the 1990s she released a string of bestselling novels. Hackers (1992) explored computer hacking. Whizziwig (1995) starred a wish-granting alien. And Pig-Heart Boy (1997) tracked the prejudice faced by a teenager saved by an unexpected organ transplant.

As a child Blackman read almost no stories featuring Black heroes. She wanted to change this. In 2001 she published Noughts & Crosses. It imagined a racially segregated society where the powerful Black Crosses rule over the White Noughts.

The honours have come fast. Blackman was children's laureateSomebody who has been honoured for art or science. from 2013 to 2015. She has won numerous awards and received an OBEThe Order of the British Empire, a lesser honour than a CBE.. She has some famous fans. StormzyA British rapper and songwriter. once rapped: "I'm Malorie Blackman the way I sell books".

Blackman is frustrated that racism remains. But she takes heart that her books have inspired children. "If I have served any purpose on this planet, I think - I hope - it's been to switch a few people on to reading and maybe even turn a few people into writers as well".

Is hope our greatest need?

Yes: Hope can have a powerful effect on our lives. Look at the placebo effect, where people recover from sickness despite being given a fake pill or treatment. Living without hope can lead us to despair.

No: A need is something that is essential for our lives. And although hope is very important for our happiness, we can live without it. Our greatest needs are physical ones: food, water and shelter.

Or... Hope is a very powerful thing. But it must be backed up with real possibility of change. It can lead to unrealistic expectations. A hope defeated can be more devastating than no hope at all.

Barbados - An island nation in the Caribbean. Most of its inhabitants are the descendants of slaves who were traded under British rule.

Sickle cell disease - A group of inherent disorders that cause unusually shaped red blood cells in sufferers. 

Laureate - Somebody who has been honoured for art or science.

OBE - The Order of the British Empire, a lesser honour than a CBE.

Stormzy - A British rapper and songwriter.