Meet the author

Benjamin Zephaniah.

Writer · United Kingdom · b. 1958

Benjamin Zephaniah (1958–2023): British dub poet and YA author behind People Need People, Refugee Boy and Talking Turkeys — performance-led, politically serious poetry and fiction for ages 7+.

Benjamin Zephaniah (1958–2023) was a British dub poet and author of Jamaican heritage, one of the defining voices in contemporary British poetry. His children's-book output included People Need People, Talking Turkeys, Wicked World!, plus the YA novels Refugee Boy, Face and Gangsta Rap. Zephaniah's voice was performance-led, politically serious, deeply musical, a poetry shelf staple in UK primary and secondary schools. He famously declined an OBE in 2003. His books, particularly Refugee Boy, are widely taught and form a core inclusive-reading shelf for UK children's readers. A canonical contemporary British poet for ages 7+.