John Agard is a national and internationally acclaimed poet, playwright, short story writer, and performer, who over his long career has become known and loved for his playful, witty style and charismatic performances.

In 2021, he was awarded the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement for his outstanding contribution to literature, and has previously been awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, the Smarties Book Prize, and many more. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and is studied on the National Curriculum in GSCE English.

John lives in East Sussex and travels to festivals around the world to perform his poetry, offering wit, imagination, and exhilarating wordplay.

In 2022, John had five new works published. Three of these books were for children, including When Creature Met Creature and Windrush Child.

“Surreal and playful, John Agard’s stories reveal hidden truths that subtly change our view of who we are and where we come from.”
— Hope Publishing

His latest poetry collection Border Zone has received wide acclaim, and Follow that Word – a collection of 60 of his most beloved poems – has quickly become a “must on every bookshelf”.

His first-ever collection of short stories, Inspector Dreadlock Holmes and Other Stories, was published by HopeRoad in October 2022.

His book John Agard's Windrush Child, illustrated by Sophie Bass (Walker Books), was shortlisted for the Diverse Book Awards 2023.

 
““His poems are direct and arresting, playful, full of startling imagery, and are hilarious, passionate and erotic as often as they are political - often managing to be all these things at once.” ”
— Maura Dooley

John Agard reading at Stroud Book Festival 2022.

Awards & Prizes

BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award (2021) 

Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry (2012) 

The Young Inferno: Centre for Literacy in Primary Education poetry award 2009

Shortlisted for the British Book Awards Decibel Writer of the Year (2007) 

Paul Hamlyn Award for Poetry (1997) 

We Animals Would Like a Word With You : Nestle Smarties Book Prize Bronze Award 1995

Lend me your Wings: Shortlisted for the Nestle Smarties Book Prize 1987