The Very Merry Murder Club

Patrice Lawrence was born in Brighton and brought up in an Italian and Trinidadian household. Her first book for young adults, Orangeboy, was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award and won the Bookseller YA Prize and Waterstone’s Prize for Older Children's Fiction. Indigo Donut, her second book for teenagers, won the Crimefest YA Prize. Both books have been nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Patrice worked for more than 20 years for charities supporting equality and social justice. These themes (along with a serious amount of music) inform her stories. Patrice still lives in Brighton.

She is our current Writer in Residence.

Watch our interview with Patrice Lawrence

Serena Patel is the critically acclaimed author of the bestselling Anisha, Accidental Detective series, which won the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Award in 2020, was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award 2021 and the Lollies Book Awards 2021. Holiday Adventure won The Week Junior Book Award for Younger Fiction in 2023. 

Sharna Jackson is the Artistic Director of Site Gallery, Sheffield and a board member of Sheffield Doc/Fest, Upswing Aerial Arts and New Writing North. She has previously worked as a creative producer with the Tate, BAFTA, The Design Museum, The Royal Collection Trust, Museum of Childhood, V&A, Science Museum, Penguin amongst others. An advocate for diverse representation across children’s media, she is a member of BAFTA’s Children’s and Learning and New Talent committees and the Children’s Media Conference advisory board. High Rise Mystery (Knights Of), is her debut novel, the first in a mould-breaking crime series.