Joseph Coelho

Joseph Coelho is a British poet and children's book author who was elected Children's Laureate in 2022. He has dedicated his career to making poetry accessible to all, with a focus on children and young people.Coelho grew up in a tower block in Roehampton, where he was the son of a single parent.He became interested in poetry when Jean Binta Breeze visited his school whilst Coelho was in sixth form. He studied A-Levels in Theatre Studies, English, Chemistry, History and an A/S in Archaeology.Coelho was an undergraduate student in archaeology at University College LondonDuring his undergraduate studies he directed plays at UCL, after which he took various jobs, including working at Camden Council.Coelho started performing poetry with performance poetry organisation Apples and Snakes in 2002, performing on the London Poetry Scene. Coelho has a long history in theatre both on stage and behind the scenes, which begun as a youth at Group 64 in Putney. After University Coelho worked with many companies behind the scenes including, The Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, The Unicorn Theatre, Talawa Theatre Company, Oily Cart, and Theatre Centre.‍