Malorie Blackman, the newly-appointed children’s laureate and writer of teenage fiction, said youngsters ought to read about sex within the safe confines of a book rather than through “innuendo and porn”. She told the Telegraph giving children challenging themes would allow them to process it within a “safe” context rather than turning to damaging and “brutalising” images. Her arguments were echoed by author and Carnegie Medal-winner Melvin Burgess, who said there should be “no actual limits” to the subjects covered in teenage fiction. Blackman, author of Pig Heart Boy, Noble Conflict and the Naughts and Crosses series, said it was...
