By Sanaa Sivuyile Mumba-Mang’ula (Y8)
Patrice Lawrence the author of Orange Boy and many other books came to our school on June 3, 2026. (aka Africa day) She was the first of her family to be born in England and the first of her family to be an Author. She comes from Trinidad and Guyana as well as Barbados.
As a child with two parents working in medical fields, she had mentioned it felt like she didn’t have many options for a career. Before she started writing she spent 20 years working in multiple organizations working on children’s rights and child injustice.
What really inspired her to start writing was her mother and how her mother had introduced her to the library at a young age. A quote that she said that hit me was: “I wonder what makes lovely people make bad decisions.”
Her book Orange boy won an award in 2016 The Waterstones children’s book prize for older children and the Bookseller YA prize with Orange boy. Multiple of her own books have caught the eye of teenagers and many adult readers and have not only won prizes but sold all over the world. Many of her books have been even translated into many languages but her book Orange Boy has the most languages. Orange boy has been translated into 22 languages world wide.
Patrice has written several books, many of them for children and some for adults. I feel as though she needs recognition for her incredible work and it was an absolute pleasure and honor to meet and have interviewed her.