My Life As A Chameleon written by Diana Anyakwo is shortlisted for the KPMG Children's Books Ireland Awards 2024. Learn more about the book & the story behind it.

Diana Anyakwo reads from her stunning coming-of-age novel My Life as a Chameleon (Little, Brown), longlisted for Jhalak C&YA Prize 2024. Our judges commended this moving novel for pre-teen and teen readers for its nuanced exploration of urgent and pressing issues of belonging, mental health, and the complexities of navigating multiple cultures. First awarded in March 2017, the Jhalak Prize and its sister award Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize founded in 2020, seek to celebrate books by writers of colour in Britain and Ireland. The prizes are unique in that they accept entries published in the UK by writers of colour. These include (and not limited to) fiction, non-fiction, short stories, graphic novels, poetry and all other genres. The Jhalak Children’s and YA Prize accepts books for children, teens and young adults including picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, poetry, non-fiction, and all other genres by writers of colour and aimed at young readers. The prizes are also open to self-published writers. The Jhalak Prize awards £1000 to each winner along with a unique work of art created by artists chosen for the annual Jhalak Art Residency. Shortlisted authors also receive a one-year complimentary membership to the London Library, U.K.'s largest independent library. Each winner receives a two-year complimentary membership. The two awards exist to support and celebrate writers of colour in Britain and Ireland.

Send us a text (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2318312/open_sms) In My Life as a Chameleon, Diana Anyakwo explores the themes of identity, family and memory with a tender hand. Centred around the experiences of Lily, a teenager of mixed race background growing up in Nigeria and England.  Lily’s experience is further complicated by her birth order as the youngest of four children with a significant age difference between her and the others. Interestingly, the novel is written in a diary like format flitting between different time periods with no strict adherence to chronology. We watch Lily experience bereavement and the subsequent pain of grief as young child whose experience is often dismissed. Prior to this loss, Lily experiences the confusion of a loved one’s mental illness and her family’s inability to confront or adequately acknowledge the fissures and chasms that this causes. We sat down in this delightful conversation with Diana to discuss what it means to write characters who navigate complex social contexts and identities while grieving a past unknown and an uncertain future. My Life as a Chameleon has been longlisted for the Jhalak Children's and Young Adult Prize 2024 and shortlisted for the KMPG Ireland Children's Books Ireland Awards  Support the show (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2318312/support) follow us on social media @cheekynatives