Award-winning author and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce revealed as new Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2024-2026.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the multi award-winning author, screenwriter and SLA Patron, has been crowned the Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2024 – 2026. He was presented with the bespoke silver Laureate medal by outgoing Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho, at a ceremony held at Howard Assembly Room, Leeds.
Managed by BookTrust and sponsored by Waterstones, this prestigious role celebrates creativity and storytelling, promotes the vital importance of reading and children’s literature, and champions the right of every child to enjoy a lifetime enriched with books and stories. Each Laureate brings their own passion and creativity to their tenure.
Frank pledged to dedicate his two-year tenure to igniting a fierce national conversation about the role books and reading can play in transforming children’s lives, referencing the decades of compelling evidence showing that reading for pleasure is the single biggest factor impacting the life-chances of a child. He said: “I am so proud to be here today, being passed the torch of the Laureateship. Writing and reading has transformed my life – and I write children’s books because I think they help build the apparatus of happiness inside us."
"For too long, the life-changing benefits of children’s reading have not been taken seriously. And now – as our children face an unknown future – we risk losing a generation unless we act. So, my tenure as Waterstones Children’s Laureate will have happiness at its heart, but it will be about urgency. It will be about addressing invisible privilege and inequality. It will be about the increasing number of children in poverty being left further and further behind. It will be about calling for national provision so that every child – from their earliest years – has access to books, reading and the transformative ways in which they improve long-term life chances."
The campaign – which is called Reading Rights: Books Build a Brighter Future – also includes plans for a national summit bringing together expert voices in the political, education, literacy and early years sectors.
To read the full announcement and learn more, click here.