The new Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho said he wants to use his role to encourage the whole country “to become poets”.
The writer, who grew up in Roehampton in southwest London, is the 12th Children’s laureate and follows names such as Quentin Blake and Julia Donaldson.
Coelho, whose books including poetry, picture books and novels, said: “I want to use the prestigious platform of the Waterstones Children’s Laureate to highlight and celebrate the power of poetry. To invite the nation, young and old, to write poems, to become poets.”
He also said he would use his position in his two-year term to boost the profile of libraries describing them as “miraculous institutions where new horizons line the shelves”.
The writer, who was presented with his silver Laureate medal by his predecessor Cressida Cowell at a ceremony at the Unicorn Theatre, said: “Libraries made me a writer and make communities thrive - I wish to champion the services of these essential launchpads of learning.
“I’m trying to connect with and heal my younger self - a self-unable to imagine a future writing and publishing books.
“Through this work, through the young people and families I am lucky enough to interact with, I’m trying to reach down through time and tell little Joe ‘You can write, you can be a writer, your voice is valid your words are waiting to be heard.’
“Because I know that when the youth of today hear that message, he’ll hear it too.”
Coelho started writing poetry as a teenager before studying archaeology at UCL and previously said:”Basically, I dug up bones in Peru for a couple of years, which was lots of fun but still I wrote poems and started directing and writing plays."
Kate Edwards, chairwoman of the Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2022-24 judging panel, said: "Nominations for this prestigious role are invited from hundreds of literature, literacy and education organisations across the UK, and we are thrilled to welcome Joseph to the ‘League of Laureates’.
"His dynamic performance, passionate advocacy and engaging writing - which inspires children of all ages - cemented our choice for the next Waterstones Children’s Laureate, to champion the right of every child to enjoy a lifetime rich in books and stories.”
