#100 Malorie Blackman: Strength In The Story

Hello and welcome to the 100th episode of the Wanna Be Podcast! a behind the scenes look at the opportunities available in the creative and entertainment industries so you can get to

where you wanna be 30 minutes or less. I am of course your host, Imriel Morgan


Shoutout to Andy Ayim for dropping gems and gems in last week’s episode- it’s a must listen for entrepreneurs in the making.


I am so pumped to introduce you to my 100th episode guest! Malorie Blackman OBE is a bestselling young adult and Children’s author. Malorie holds over 15 awards for her writing, she was the Children’s Laureate from 2013-2015. Malorie’s most notable work is the critically acclaimed Noughts and Crosses book series which was recently adapted for TV by the BBC. Malorie has written over 70 books, including Pig Heart Boy, she’s written for Byker Grove, co-written on Dr Who, and much more.


Malorie’s books helped me understand my place in the world and gave me the opportunity to have conversations about race, in a way I was unable to before reading. I couldn’t think of anyone more fitting for this episode and I’m so honoured by her generosity to sit and record with me and share what she’s learned in her 30 odd years of writing with us today.


In today’s episode Malorie shares her daily routine, what gets her creative juices flowing, and how she assesses what good writing is. We explore the value of traditional publishing for new writers of colours. She explains the differences she experienced writing for TV and how she’s handled both the positives and negative responses to the BBC Adaptation of Noughts and Crosses.. Malorie also reveals her goals for the next 10 years.


As it’s the 100th episode we wanted to leave all the good stuff in so it’s slightly over 30 mins but I think you’ll appreciate it! Let’s get into it


I’m still pinching myself about this! A massive thank you to Malorie for her generosity, her advice will stick with me and I hope it resonates and sticks with you too! You can watch Noughts and Crosses on BBC iPlayer. I highly recommend reading the books first as they are remarkable and you can find them in all good bookstores. Visit MalorieBlackman.co.uk to find out what she’s up to next.


If you’ve enjoyed this episode tell us about it by commenting on our Instagram post and using the the hashtag #WannaBePod on Twitter. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts do leave a rating. We’ve pulled some amazing quotes from the episodes which you can reshare via Instagram and Twitter. For updates on Wanna Be follow Content is Queen on Twitter @ContentisQn and Instagram @contentisqueenhq.


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