Laura Dockrill is a performance poet and novelist. She was named one of the top ten literary talents by The Times and one of the top twenty hot faces to watch by ELLE magazine. Laura is a young, talented writer/illustrator who is a graduate of the BRIT School of Performing Arts. She has performed her work at the Edinburgh Fringe, Camp Bestival, Latitude, Bookslam and the Soho Theatre and on each of the BBC's respective radio channels, 1-6. She has been a roaming reporter for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, judged the BBC National Short Story Award, and has appeared on Blue Peter, Channel 4 News and Newsnight. Laura also teaches Guardian Masterclasses in writing for children and is on the advisory board at the Ministry of Stories.
Her books include Mistakes in the Background, Ugly Shy Girl and Echoes. Her first series for younger children, Darcy Burdock was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. Lorali is her first novel for teenagers.
Laura is a judge on the Blue Peter Awards 2018: “I adored judging the Blue Peter Book Award, the nominated list was incredibly strong and made judging the prize so difficult. Which I think is a very good thing for the world of children’s books! I met wizards, talking toys with speech impediments, and was flown across the globe to marvellous new landscapes. I met big foot, uncovered mysteries and had my head blown off by space facts. It was a wonderful privilege and the shortlist is stunning!”