Born in 1963 to Jamaican parents, Wheatle spent much of his childhood in a Shirley Oakschildren's home. At 16 he was a founder member of the Crucial Rocker sound system; his DJ name was Yardman Irie. He wrote lyrics about everyday Brixton life. By 1980 Wheatle was living in a social services hostel in Brixton, South London, and he participated in the 1981 Brixton riots and aftermath. While serving his resulting sentence he read authors such as Chester Himes, Richard Wright, C. L. R. James and John Steinbeck. He claims that a Rastafarian was his cellmate, and he was the one who encouraged Wheatle to start reading books and care about his education. He features bits of his life in his books, such as East of Acre Lane characters Yardman Irie and Jah Nelson. Wheatle has since spoken about the Brixton riots, most prominently in the 2006 BBC programme Battle for Brixton. His early books are based on his life in Brixton as a teenager and his time in social services' care. He received the London Arts Board New Writers Award in 1999 for his debut novelBrixton Rock, which was later adapted for the stage and performed at the Young Vic in July 2010. He wrote and performed Uprising, a one-man play based on his own life at Tara Arts Studios, Wandsworth, London. In 2011 he took Uprising on tour and performed it at the Writing On The Wall Festival, Liverpool; Oxford Playhouse; Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; Ilkley Playhouse and the Albany Theatre, Deptford. Wheatle lives in London. He is a member of English PEN, and he now visits various institutions facilitating creative writing classes and making speeches. He has also narrated an audio guide to the streets of Brixton.
Awards and honours
In the Queen's Birthday Honours 2008, Wheatle was awarded the MBE for services to literature. His Young-adult novelLiccle Bit was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 2016. His 2016 book Crongton Knights won the 50th Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. S. F. Said, one of the judging panel, said of the book: "Wheatle’s writing is poetic, rhythmic and unique, remaking the English language with tremendous verve. Though Crongton is his invention, it resonates with many urban situations, not only in Britain but around the world. Crongton Knights is a major novel from a major voice in British children’s literature."
