As his memoir Sufferah is published, telling the story of his early life in care and in prison, the award-winning novelist picks the five books that shaped his thinking and changed his life
SHELF LIFE
As part of his Small Axe series, Sir Steve McQueen decided to film a drama about my young life for episode four. It was an overwhelming experience as initially I was just a member of the creative team and part of the writers’ room.
You cannot squeeze everything into an hour’s TV drama, so I decided to write a memoir, Sufferah, to help fill in the gaps. Writing about my life proved to be a cathartic experience for me.
I usually begin my writing sessions in the morning. I try to avoid distractions and turn off any devices and phones. Sometimes I write for three hours, on other days just an hour. I never try to force it. On occasion, the best ideas come to me when I’m taking a walk in the park or travelling on a train. I keep a little notebook for when these ideas strike, something I’ve done since I was a teenager writing poetry and song lyrics.
The best piece of writing advice I have received is to ‘write the book that you’d like to buy.’
To my students I try to advise them to write about a subject matter that they feel passionately about and have a compelling interest.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The first novel I read was Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. It was given to me when I was attending St Giles School for delicate children in South Croydon when I was about eight or nine years old.
I remember reading the book under my bed covers at the children’s home I was residing in with the aid of a bicycle light. Treasure Island offered me moments of escape from my miserable, lonely existence in the institution. I recall dreaming about sailing the high seas and enjoying adventures full of jeopardy just like Jim Hawkins. I imagined meeting characters like Long John Silver and Billy Bones. Many years later, it helped inspire my Y/A novel, Kemosha of the Caribbean.
Catch a Fire by Timothy White
The late great Bob Marley passed away in May 1981. Personally, it felt like a death in the family. I wanted to discover more of the man behind the music so when Timothy White published his biography of the legendary musician titled Catch A Fire, I was one of the first in queue at the bookshop.
Reading the book, I discovered that Marley was born into abject poverty in a rural community in Jamaica. His father had abandoned him when he was a young child and all he had was this desire to play music and sing songs. It greatly inspired me, particularly as I found parallels with my own life jour
