A M Dassu

CWIG committee member 2021-4

A. M. DASSU is the internationally acclaimed author of Boy, Everywhere, which was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, nominated for the Carnegie Medal, is the 2021 winner of The Little Rebels Award for Radical Fiction and is also an American Library Association Notable Book. She is former deputy editor, now an Advisory Board Member of SCBWIBritish Isles’ Words & Pictures magazine; a director at Inclusive Minds, which is an organization for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in children’s literature; and one of The National Literacy Trust’s Connecting Stories campaign authors, aiming to help inspire a love of reading and writing in children and young people. A. M. Dassu grew up in the Midlands dreaming of becoming a writer but studied economics instead and worked in marketing and project management before realising her dream. Her work has been published by The Huffington Post, Times Educational Supplement, SCOOP Magazine, Lee and Low Books, Old Barn Books, Scholastic, DK Books and Harper Collins. When she isn’t battling emails or writing, A. M. Dassu mentors aspiring authors and loves to shout about other people’s books. She writes books that challenge stereotypes, humanize the “other”, and are full of empathy, hope and heart. You can also find her on Twitter @a_reflective or Instagram @a.m.dassu

Statement of intent: I am keen to increase representation of children’s authors geographically (outside of London and surrounding counties) and due to my connections with established, debut and aspiring authors can bring a fresh view to the table on what sort of professional development is needed, and also look at how we can increase representation in terms of age, disability and ethnicity.