Alex Wheatle – författare

Brought to you by Penguin.Moa is fourteen. The only life he has ever known is toiling on the Frontier sugar cane plantation for endless hot days, fearing the vicious whips of the overseers. Then one night he learns of an uprising, led by the charismatic Tacky. Moa is to be a cane warrior, and fight for the freedom of all the enslaved people in the nearby plantations. But before they can escape, Moa and his friend Keverton must face their first great task: to kill their overseer, Misser Donaldson. Time is ticking, and the day of the uprising approaches . . .Irresistible, gripping and unforgettable, Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky''s War in Jamaica, 1760.© Alex Wheatle 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

What''s worse than hiding a secret? Liccle Bit''s about to find out...

Venetia King is the hottest girl at school. Too bad Lemar is the second shortest guy in his year. Everyone calls him Liccle Bit, and his two best friends, McKay and Jonah, never tire of telling him he has no chance with girls. Things aren''t much better at home. His mum is permanently hassled, his sister a frustrated single mum and his dad moved out years ago. Liccle Bit wishes he could do something - anything! - to make life better. A new phone would be a start...

When Venetia starts paying Liccle Bit attention, he secretly hopes he''s on a fast track to a first date. Unfortunately, as a new gang war breaks out, he finds himself on a fast track to something much more sinister. South Crongton''s notorious gang leader has taken an interest in Liccle Bit. Before he knows what''s happening, he finds himself running errands. But when he hears about a killing on the estate, Liccle Bit is forced to question his choices. How can he possibly put things right?

THE NEW NOVEL FROM THE WINNER OF THE GUARDIAN CHILDREN''S FICTION PRIZE 2016Round these ends, it''s hard to hold on to your dreams

Life''s a constant hustle for Mo. Her mum''s boyfriend Lloyd is just another man who likes to beat down women; the South Crong streets are fraught with hazards and nasty G''s; and when it comes to matters of the heart . . . she''s still hung up on Sam.

No wonder she''s vexed so much of the time.

Thank god her sistrens, Elaine and Naomi, are on her side: if one of them falls then they all fall.

But when badness goes down and a life is left hanging in the balance, Mo has to face her hot urge for revenge . . . and she might end up losing more than she wins.

''Alex Wheatle is the real deal; he writes with heart and authenticity, books that make you laugh and worry and cry and hold your breath. It''s a pity there''s only one of him'' Kit de Waal''I love Alex and all he stands for in the world of literature'' Kerry Hudson''Alex Wheatle is an inspirer. He is a vital writer. He is a prince among men. Long may he reign'' Lemn Sissay''An author with great talent and great heart'' David Almond''A major voice in British children''s literature'' S F Said''Alex is a one of our foremost literary activists, giving voice to the black working class experience with unsurpassed clarity and compassion. For this alone he should be universally considered a national treasure'' Stephen Kelman''A writer who knows unseen places, unheard people and untold stories because he has lived a life that might have remained hidden if he hadn''t found within him the urge and talent to write'' Yasmin Alibhai-Brown ''This isn''t my home. Haven''t had a proper home since...This is just somewhere I''ll be resting my bones for a week and maybe a bit. This time next year you''ll forget who I am. I haven''t got a diddly where I''ll be by then. But I''m used to it''New from the winner of the Guardian Children''s Book Award: Home Girl is the story of Naomi, a teenage girl growing up fast in the care system. It is a wholly modern story which sheds a much needed light on what can be an unsettling life - and the consequences that can follow when children are treated like pawns on a family chessboard. Home Girl is fast-paced and funny, tender, tragic and full of courage - just like Naomi. It is award-winning author Alex Wheatle''s most moving and personal novel to date.

WELCOME TO CRONGTON - where your loyalties and wits will be tested ...Things have been quiet in South Crongton. It''s been an age since anyone last spotted Manjaro, South Crong''s most notorious warlord. But there have been murmurs that something is coming. Jonah is the fastest sprinter in South Crong, and has his sights set on an Olympic Medal one day. But with his dad now jobless, and his parents constant fighting because they can''t make ends meet, Jonah has more on his mind than the North/South Crong gang war games.So when he gets kidnapped and taken to Manjaro''s secret hideout, it''s the last thing Jonah needs. But Manjaro''s latest game comes with a map and the promise of a big bag of cash at the end. Jonah''s family, and his parents'' marriage, could be saved with all that cash! It''s time for Jonah to rally the Crongton Knights again and follow the clues.But will the map lead them to treasure, or something much more deadly?

"This novel will be nostalgia trip for anyone who grew up in similar circumstances and a breath of fresh Jamaican air for anyone else" The Voice Jenny and Hortense Rodney have always loved and hated one another in the way that only sisters can. From their childhood in Claremont, rural Jamaica, to working life amid the hustle and bustle of Trenchtown, they are the turning point in a multi-generational tale.Enticed by the possibilities of the colonial "motherland", the sisters move to England and settle in the bleak streets of Brixton, only to find that this land of opportunity is instead one that will stretch their fractious relationship to breaking point . . . A hauntingly beautifully evocation of twentieth-century Jamaica and the Brixton of the Windrush generation, Island Songs is an epic of love, laughter and sorely tested family loyalties. By the author of Brixton Rock, East of Acre Lane and Homeboys, and several bestselling, prizewinning novels for younger readers"Island Songs grabs your heart " Independent"Alex Wheatle has a real talent for understated, convincing dialogue" Big Issue

"One of the big memoirs of the summer" i news"A potent tale of triumph over adversity. Angry but never bitter, Wheatle''s compassion shines through the pain" Observer"Alex is a truly gifted storyteller, and the way he details his own story here is no exception" JEFFREY BOAKYEIn this breathtaking memoir, acclaimed writer Alex Wheatle shows how music became his salvation through a childhood marred by abuse.Abandoned as a baby to the British care system, Alex grows up with no knowledge of his Jamaican parentage or family history. Later, he is inexorably drawn to reggae, his lifeline through disrupted teenage years, the challenges of living as a young Black man in 1980s Britain and his imprisonment for protesting against systemic racism and police brutality.Alex''s youth was portrayed in Oscar Award-winning director Steve McQueen''s Small Axe series. In Sufferah, he tells his own story, urgently, vividly and unsentimentally. His award-winning fiction - and this memoir - are a call to never give up hope. They remind us that words can be our sustenance, and music our heartbeat."Alex Wheatle is the real deal; he writes with heart and authenticity, books that make you laugh and worry and cry and hold your breath" KIT DE WAAL"Alex Wheatle is an inspirer. He sheds light in dark places . . . He is a vital writer" LEMN SISSAY"Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion" STEVE McQUEEN, director of Small Axe