Is hope our greatest need? Malorie Blackman has faced illness and rejection to become one of Britain's favourite writers. She believes that hope is the spark to success.
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The bestselling author who faced 82 rejections
Is hope our greatest need? Malorie Blackman has faced illness and rejection to become one of Britain's favourite writers. She believes that hope is the spark to success.
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Malorie Blackman is one of Britain's greatest writers for children and young adults. Yet her path to successSuccess is when you reach your aim or purpose. was long and hard.
Blackman was born in South London. Her parents had moved 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 racistBelieving that a person's skin colour makes them better than others. abuse at school. She remembers being told to "go back to where you came from".
At the age of 13, she lived in a homeless shelter with her family. It had rats. Books were her escape.
Blackman has 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 rejectionWhen somebody says no to an idea or offer. letters. But she kept trying. "If you hope things can be better," she says, "that's when you try and make things better."
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Her hope paid off. Throughout the 90s she wrote lots of bestselling books. One was about computer hacking. Another was about organ transplantsAn operation in which someone who is sick is given a new organ such as a heart or lungs, usually from someone else that has died. .
As a child Blackman found almost no stories featuring Black heroes. She wanted to change this. In 2001 she published Noughts & Crosses. It imagined a world where the powerful Black Crosses rule over the White Noughts.
Today Blackman has some famous fans. StormzyA British rapper and songwriter. once rapped: "I'm Malorie Blackman the way I sell books".
Is hope our greatest need?
Yes! We all need to have hope for something. If not, we would never have any reason to do anything. Hope keeps us going when times are hard.
No! Hope is very important to our happiness. But our greatest needs are food, water and a place to live.
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Keywords
Success - Success is when you reach your aim or purpose.
Barbados - An island nation in the Caribbean. Most of its inhabitants are the descendants of slaves who were traded under British rule.
Racist - Believing that a person's skin colour makes them better than others.
Sickle cell disease - A group of inherent disorders that cause unusually shaped red blood cells in sufferers.
Rejection - When somebody says no to an idea or offer.
Organ transplants - An operation in which someone who is sick is given a new organ such as a heart or lungs, usually from someone else that has died.
Stormzy - A British rapper and songwriter.
The bestselling author who faced 82 rejections
Prolific: Malorie Blackman has written more than 70 books. Glossary
Success - Success is when you reach your aim or purpose.
Barbados - An island nation in the Caribbean. Most of its inhabitants are the descendants of slaves who were traded under British rule.
Racist - Believing that a person's skin colour makes them better than others.
Sickle cell disease - A group of inherent disorders that cause unusually shaped red blood cells in sufferers.
Rejection - When somebody says no to an idea or offer.
Organ transplants - An operation in which someone who is sick is given a new organ such as a heart or lungs, usually from someone else that has died.
Stormzy - A British rapper and songwriter.