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Bookmaker In Chief: Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho
Joseph Coelho took on the mantle of Waterstones Children’s Laureate two years ago and talked to Books for Keeps then about his ambitions for the role. His last engagement as Laureate will be at the Poetry By Heart Grand Finale on 1 July. His successor takes over the following day. Joseph shares his reflections on the role and his achievements as Laureate in this new interview.
When you became Waterstones Children’s Laureate, what were you most looking forward to doing in the role?
I had had the idea for the Poetry Prompts for quite a few years and was waiting for the time in my schedule to get the series of videos I envisioned scripted and recorded. Becoming Children’s Laureate provided amazing support via BookTrust to realise this ambitious project of releasing a new video every week throughout my tenure. I have scripted and recorded eighty Poetry Prompt videos as Laureate that are freely available on the BookTrust website and over on my YouTube channel. It’s been wonderful hearing from teachers about how helpful the prompts have been in giving young people the opportunity to become writers in a fun and non-threatening way. I’m so grateful to BookTrust for putting in the time to make the prompts possible and am so pleased that the laureateship provided the perfect vehicle from which to shout about poetry and its value in getting young people reading and writing.
Looking back, what have you enjoyed the most?
I have had a blast as Children’s Laureate and have had so many wonderful experiences, from interviewing Her Majesty The Queen to representing the UK with The British Embassy in Bolivia at the La Paz International Book Fair, to appearing on Newsround, Blue Peter and BBC Breakfast – but what has been the most enjoyable for me has been meeting young readers and writers in libraries all over the country. It felt particularly special to finish the library marathon as the Children’s Laureate and to visit wonderful libraries all over the UK. I recall meeting school children on the isle of Portland at Portland library where I was informed that it is bad luck to say the word ‘rabbit’ – I didn’t tell them that Coelho means rabbit in Portuguese! I remember giving a talk on the Isles of Scilly at St Mary’s Library to a group of OAPs who had wonderful questions about children’s literature and techniques for getting their grandchildren reading. The librarians at every library have made me feel so welcome and have gone above and beyond to use my visits as opportunities to sign up new patrons and to let their local community know about all their wonderful services.
What has surprised you most about your experiences as Children’s Laureate?
I have definitely grown through the laureateship. I have found the strength and courage to do things I would not have done before, to set my own boundaries and to take risks – risks that before would have had me fretting and waking in the wee hours. Tasks that seemed impossible or tasks I would get to when I had ‘made it’ now feel much closer because of the realisation that the only time to do what we want to do is now. This realisation surprised me because I have spent years talking about the importance of artists ‘choosing themselves’ and not giving away their power. Yet over these last two years I have found areas within myself where I was still holding on – still expecting some monumental change that would make it possible for me to initiate a project or realise a dream. Funnily enough becoming Children’s Laureate was in some ways a reality check. Whilst of course the role comes with profile rising opportunities and a certain amount of spotlight, for much of the time I have been doing what I (and so many authors and illustrators) have been doing for years: standing in train vestibules, turning up at Premier Inns in the hours of darkness, responding to last minute changes at events, writing emails in cafes and struggling to find time to write, and all that good stuff that bookmakers everywhere will recognise. Part of me felt like the laureateship would somehow change all of that but of course it doesn’t, the hard slog that I was doing as an unpublished poet remains and with that a freedom to stop waiting for things to miraculously change… they won’t. Instead, choose to feel empowered to live the best version of yourself now. If there is anything I can pass on to other artists, it is this: the time is always now. There is no ideal time for that passion project, to travel to that place, to do that thing. Do it, whatever it is, now.
What have you found most challenging about the role?
If I’m honest the most challenging aspect was juggling my job as a writer with the demands of the role. As a mid-career writer, I have had many writing commitments and book promotion commitments that I have had to juggle with the role of laureate. Luckily, I have been able to find ways of using many of my book requests to create opportunities for the laureate role for instance when asked to promote my US titles in Texas I was able, thanks to my publishers, to be involved in several sessions with the US Ambassador for Literature Meg Medina, hosted by the Librarian of Congress. This was a brilliant event and a fantastic opportunity to connect with my counterpart in the USA. It underlined for me the need for the UK to have a role similar to the Librarian of Congress. We currently don’t have a similarly weighted role representing libraries and I hope that my suggestion for a Libraries Laureate can fill that gap.
What has being Laureate revealed to you about children’s books and reading today?
It has shown me that children’s books and reading are just as essential as they’ve always been. It’s been difficult seeing that free and easy access to books is still not a given with the closure of libraries and stats revealing that fewer than one in two children aged between 8 to 18 enjoy reading (National Literacy Survey 2022) or that over one in five pupils receiving free school meals said that their World Book Day book was the first book they ever owned (unpublished data from NLT). There is clearly still a huge amount of work to be done promoting books and encouraging children to read. But it is not an insurmountable challenge and there are wonderful things happening. I have been buoyed up by the incredible work being done by teachers and librarians creating displays of children’s work, setting up reading lists and writing opportunities to invite children into the world of words, because of course if you get kids writing a side-effect is that you get them reading.
What would you highlight as your main achievements in the role?
I would have to go with the library marathon because it led not only to more people on the ground joining their local library nationally but also meant that I got the opportunity to comment on Baroness Sanderson’s independent review of libraries and to share my experiences visiting libraries all over the UK, sharing my experience of seeing first-hand how vibrant and essential these spaces are and not just for books, but for the multitude of front-line services that libraries offer.
What do you want your Laureate legacy to be?
I hope that through the Bookmaker Like You arm of my tenure that more young people have a broader sense of who writers and illustrators (bookmakers) can be. I hope that this generation of young people will be able to look to me as the first male of colour in this role and those I have highlighted through BMLY and beyond, to feel that the publishing industry is one that needs and welcomes them and their stories. I hope more young people feel empowered to write because of the Poetry Prompts and I hope that the Library Marathon will be seen as one of the many efforts taken by librarians, community groups, literacy charities, writers and illustrators to change the sad state we have seen libraries existing in over these past years.
Are there reasons to be cheerful for example around libraries?
I had the pleasure of being asked to write a poem for the opening of the 1000th library as part of the National Literacy Trust and Penguin Random House Libraries for Primaries project. I was blown away by the fact that 1000 libraries that previously did not exist before now do, it is an incredible achievement and really underlines what the industry can make happen. Even against the odds.
What was the best advice you received before taking on the role?
I spoke to many former laureates before taking on the role and was very grateful for their insight and for them sharing with me their very different and unique experiences. I was reminded by Chris Riddell that the role is a marathon not a sprint; Cressida Cowell reminded me to have joy in the role; Malorie Blackman offered a toolkit of ways to navigate the highs and lows; Michael Rosen reminded me to set boundaries – and all of them told me to book in my holidays, which I have only managed to do these last six months! The start of my tenure crossed with the outgoing US Ambassador for Literature Jason Reynolds. We had a photoshoot together for the Observer and I asked if he had any advice. He said, ‘Burn out’, and I gotta say, that became my mantra. I didn’t want to end the laureateship and collapse, but I certainly wanted to leave it all on the field and to ensure I did everything I could to make the most of the role and to try to inspire as many kids to write as I could, to try and highlight as many other illustrators and illustrators as I could and, of course, to join as many libraries as I could.
What advice would you give to your successor?
Do actually book your holidays in early. It’s amazing how many requests are last minute and how quickly the diary fills up.
What do you think are the challenges facing whoever takes over?
Apart from the superstition of being the thirteenth Children’s Laureate! Muhahahaha, I think the challenges remain the traditional ones of the laureate role: to highlight children’s reading, the importance of libraries and need for diversity in children’s literature.
What are you looking forward to doing as former Laureate?
I’m looking forward to getting back on track with my writing. I have managed to get a lot of writing done and have seen the publication of around ten books during my time as laureate, but my writing schedule took a hit. I’m looking forward to hitting some deadlines and writing some new things as well as getting some long overdue travelling done and steaming ahead with some special projects that I was unable to fit into my tenure.
