All at Andersen Press are saddened to hear of the death of author Alex Wheatle. Alex was one of the true greats of children’s fiction. He knew how to connect with kids and bring stories of the past and present to life. His passing is a great loss to all who knew and admired him.
His editor at Andersen Press, Chloe Sackur has added, ‘We talk about inspiration a lot, but Alex genuinely was an inspiration as a human and as a writer. He was a brilliant author who believed in everything he wrote, and captured voices and lives with truth and power. For me personally, Cane Warriors is the book I’m proudest to have helped bring into the world: Alex created a truly compelling story about an overlooked part of our history and told it with conviction, style and grace. We’ve lost a great talent and a truly lovely man.’
We at Andersen Press were proud to publish two of Alex’s incredible novels, Cane Warriors and Kemosha of the Caribbean. Cane Warriors won the Young Quills Book Award, and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Writing, Diverse Book Award, YA Book Prize, and Bristol Teen Book Award. It was longlisted for the Jhalak Prize and UKLA Book Awards.
Image copyright Antonio Olmos/The Observer, from an article December 2020 on Cane Warriors
