ARTICLES
An author, his cellmate, and a new beginning
BBC Outlook - Presenter: Jo Fidgen
When award-winning author Alex Wheatle was sentenced to nine months in prison at the age of 18, he thought his life was over....
Alex Wheatle on Brixton riots, battling prostate cancer and his latest book
As Black History Month begins, Jordan Jarrett Bryan hears how – behind bars – he found a passion for reading that led him to tell both his own story and those of others living on the margins in his award-winning books....
Why I wrote a pirate book that actually tackles slavery
Alex Wheatle MBE's new book, Kemosha of the Caribbean, is the stirring tale of an escaped slave girl's adventures on the high seas. Here's why he wanted to move away from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and tell a different story...
I felt so alone and rejected – until my prison cellmate taught me about belonging
Abandoned and neglected, I was close to a breakdown when I entered Wormwood Scrubs. Then Simeon introduced me to the black literature that inspired me to write...
Brixton riots burned 40 years ago but UK 'still has long way to go' with race relations
Author Alex Wheatle, who was caught up in the Brixton unrest, says UK has long way to go when it comes to race relations ...
History KS3 / GCSE: Small Axe - Alex Wheatle and the Brixton Uprising
In his own words, this is story of Alex Wheatle MBE, who grew up in a children's home and later became an award-winning writer of books for children and young adults. Part of Small Axe BBC Teach films - suitable for teaching KS3 and KS4 students.
The books that turned a life around
While serving time in prison, Alex Wheatle took to reading. In this clip, he explains how it helped him feel less alone.
The author Alex Wheatle grew up in a children’s home and went to prison after taking part in the Brixton riots in 1981. While serving his sentence, a cellmate advised Wheatle to start reading books...
Alex Wheatle: I was mesmerised by Tolkien’s inventiveness of language
Children's books | The Guardian - News, sport and opinion from the Guardian's US edition
I was first introduced to The Hobbit and Lord of The Rings over 25 years ago at a writing and reading group that used to meet in an Islington pub. I deferred reading the latter work because of the ...
Alex Wheatle: how my teenage years in care influenced my writing
Scottish Book Trust | Promoting reading, writing and literature in Scotland
Alex Wheatle is the author of Crongton Knights, which won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 2016. His latest novel Straight Outta Crongton is part of the same series of hard-hitting novels set on the fictional estate of South Crong.
Alex Wheatle: ‘I felt like the token black writer who talks about ghetto stuff’
Books | The Guardian - News, sport and opinion from the Guardian's US edition
Sitting in the light-filled front room of his south London flat, Alex Wheatle is supposed to be talking about the Guardian’s children’s fiction prize, of which he has just become the 50th ...
Award winning author: I was abused at council care home linked to ex-Labour minister
Mirror Online - Mirror Online: The intelligent tabloid. #madeuthink
An award-winning author today reveals that he was abused at a children’s home thought to be linked to a paedophile ring involving an MP in Tony Blair’s government..
How Brazil's world cup team helped me become a writer
A housefather of a pal of mine had bought and installed a new colour television set and we all relentlessly badgered this mate until we were allowed to watch the tournament in...
Tottenham 2011 and Brixton 1981 – different ideals, similar lessons
Opinion | The Guardian - News, sport and opinion from the Guardian's US edition
Watching the drama of Tottenham unfold on Sky News late on Saturday night I couldn't help but be propelled back to the Brixton uprising of 1981.The same Molotov cocktails and missiles were bei ...
Can reading children's books help tackle knife crime?
Children's books | The Guardian - News, sport and opinion from the Guardian's US edition
After the murder of teenager Myron Yarde on Sunday, teen author Alex Wheatle on how reading the right books can encourage the empathy and respect for life that might ...
The gentrification of Brixton: How did the area's character change so utterly?
The Independent
I met up with a friend recently and we lunched on the first floor of the Ritzy cinema bar in central Brixton in South London. As I placed my order, I remembered that the...