Patrice Lawrence has been chosen to succeed Frank Cottrell-Boyce as the new Waterstones children's laureate.

Patrice Lawrence 已被選中接替 Frank Cottrell-Boyce，成為新的 Waterstones 兒童文學桂冠詩人。

Lawrence is an accomplished author of sixteen books, including the award-winning novel Orangeboy. Her writing often focuses on the lives of Black British people and children in the foster care system, topics she knows well because she was the child of immigrants from Trinidad and spent time in private foster care. She has emphasized that there has been a lack of non-white authors in children's books, noting that her own career changed after she discovered the work of Malorie Blackman.

Lawrence 是一位成就卓越的作家，著有十六本書，包括獲獎小說《Orangeboy》。她的作品經常聚焦於英國黑人以及在寄養制度下成長的兒童生活，由於她本身是來自千里尼達移民的後代，且曾有私人寄養經驗，因此對這些話題十分熟悉。她強調兒童文學中一直缺乏非白人作家，並指出在發現 Malorie Blackman 的作品後，她自己的職業生涯也隨之改變。

During her two-year term, Lawrence plans to use her position to reduce social division. She believes that reading together can help marginalized young people feel a sense of community and personal value. Furthermore, she intends to collect actual data on how literature affects vulnerable groups, such as refugee children and children of prisoners, so that this evidence can be used to improve future government policies.

在為期兩年的任期內，Lawrence 計畫利用她的地位來減少社會分歧。她相信共同閱讀能幫助被邊緣化的年輕人獲得社區歸屬感與個人價值。此外，她打算收集關於文學如何影響弱勢群體（例如難民兒童與囚犯子女）的實際數據，以便將這些證據用於改善未來的政府政策。

At the same time, the National Literacy Trust has reported that reading for pleasure among young people aged eight to eighteen has dropped by 36% over the last twenty years. Although the government has started the National Year of Reading to fix this, Lawrence argues that the problem is made worse by social and economic issues. These include the closing of libraries, the increasing price of books, and a school system that focuses more on testing than on the joy of reading.

與此同時，國家讀寫信託基金（National Literacy Trust）報告指出，過去二十年中，八至十八歲年輕人出於興趣而閱讀的比例下降了 36%。雖然政府已啟動「國家閱讀年」以解決此問題，但 Lawrence 主張社會與經濟問題使情況惡化。這包括圖書館關閉、書價上漲，以及一個較重視考試而非閱讀樂趣的學校制度。

Lawrence begins her role with a clear goal: to promote social inclusion and prove the positive impact of children's literature through research.

Lawrence 在就任之初便定下了清晰的目標：推動社會包容，並透過研究證明兒童文學的正面影響。