“It felt VERY different writing The King is Dead, which is a romantic mystery thriller set in Buckingham Palace following the first black and queer king to sit on the throne, but I enjoyed every minute of it.” The timing felt right, as Benjamin “knew roughly what my schedule looked like for the next few months, and I was fortunate enough to be contracted for a few more books after that”.
And while his decision to move away from journalism didn’t impact on the already-written Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow, Benjamin can feel justified that he made the right choice having picked up the 2022 Diverse Book Award. He says: “It meant so much to win that award, especially as it was my first and for a book that was published during the lockdowns of 2021. It feels incredibly validating to be recognised for my work, especially knowing how much of my heart and soul I put into it, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Me, My Dad and the End of the Rain-
bow tells the story of Archie Albright and his journey to find out what has changed between his father and mother. Benjamin hopes the story reaches young people who may be feeling lonely or isolated, saying it is the kind of book he wishes he could
32 PEN&INC.
have read when he was younger. He says: “My initial inspiration was just the urge to be able to tell an LGBTQ+ story, the kind I wish I’d had as a kid. It originally started as YA but my agent at the time had the brilliant foresight to age it down and Rainbow was born from there. “I really hope the book helps any reader to feel less alone, but particularly those younger children who might be feeling confused or lost right now. I know I felt like that when I was in school and I wish I’d had something to hold onto.” Benjamin’s second Middle Grade book
The Secret Sunshine Project is a tale of two sisters that deals with loss and how an act of kindness can transform lives for the better. Like Me, My Dad and the Rain- bow there is a sense of the importance of family.
“I’ll always have a particularly soft spot
for The Secret Sunshine Project because I wrote it during a particularly challeng- ing time in my life,” Benjamin says. “It follows the story of 12-year-old Bea and her family who, after losing their father, move to the countryside and in with their gran. In a bid to cheer the family up, Bea sets about creating the village’s first ever pride, although she’s met with plenty of resistance from the village villain, Rita. It
deals with themes of pride, acceptance, grief and mental health and writing it is definitely one of my proudest achieve- ments to date.”
He adds: “Family is really important to me so I think it came pretty naturally when writing those books. Growing up, I didn’t always see myself on the cover of or in the pages of the books I read, so to be able to give that representation back to kids like me now means the world.”
And with the success of the Diverse Book Awards under his belt, Benjamin is looking forward to his latest book hit- ting the shelves in Summer. How to Die Famous is described as a “deliciously dark and addictive YA thriller following the lives of Gen Z’s rich and famous through the lens of an undercover teen journalist“.
And for fans of Benjamin’s middle grade books Me, My Dad and the Rain- bow and The Secret Sunshine Project, Benjamin says: “Some people think that I might not write another middle grade story again, but that’s not true! Something new is coming soon-ish and I can’t wait for everyone to fall into that story.” PEN&INC.
Spring-Summer 2023
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