Meet the Author: Lanisha Butterfield

Sunday 16 November, 2:30pm, Joseph Wright Centre, Derby College DE1 3PA

BSL interpreter will be in attendance

Ideal for 5 - 8 year olds | All children must be accompanied by an adult

Each year the Festival organises the Derby Children’s Picture Book Award with local schools. The 2025 winner is Flower Block, a magical tale of what happens in a community when a mysterious plant grows overnight. 

The book has recently won the Wainwright Children’s Prize for Nature Writing. Born and raised on a council estate in Oxford, Lanisha wrote Flower Block to celebrate urban living spaces, challenge stereotypes, and show children that their homes, families and communities are just as full of magic as any fairytale. 

She will share the inspirations behind her characters, the real-life stories that helped her writing, and why celebrating where we come from matters. 

Flower Block was chosen as the winner by just under 6,500 Derby schoolchildren in 63 Derby schools from a longlist of 75 books submitted by publishers.