Children’s Laureate Wales
The Children’s Laureate Wales is a national ambassadorial role which aims to inspire and empower children and young people across Wales through literature.
Founded in 2019, the role is awarded every two years to a talented and visionary Wales-based writer who is passionate about ensuring more children and young people discover the joy and well-being benefits of engaging with literature.
The Children’s Laureate Wales is committed to:
- Expanding children and young people’s access to literature, in particular children and young people from marginalised and under-represented backgrounds
- Improving children and young people’s physical and mental health and well-being through literature
- Increasing children and young people’s enjoyment of literature
- Empowering children and young people through creativity
The current Children’s Laureate Wales is poet Alex Wharton, the third to be appointed to the role.
Alex appointment was announced on 2 June, 2023, during an event at Hay Festival alongside his predecessor, Children’s Laureate Wales 2021- 2023, Connor Allen. Alex will be in the role until August 2025, working hard to share the power of poetry: making it accessible, fun, and relevant to children and young people across Wales.
The Children’s Laureate Wales keeps busy by:
- Running poetry workshops inside and outside of the classroom
- Penning official poems to mark special occasions and campaigns which are of interest to children and young people
- Creating online creative resources for children and young people to enjoy
- Championing the voices of Wales’ children and young people nationally and internationally
For enquiries, including project or collaboration proposals, please email childrenslaureate@literaturewales.org or phone 029 2047 2266.
To keep on top of all of our Children’s Laureate Wales news, head over to Twitter and follow us at @Laureate_Wales.