Nathanael Leon T Lessore (born 1990) is an English author of children’s and young adult literature. His work has earned a number of accolades, including the Branford Boase Award, a Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and a Jhalak Prize.
Early life
Lessore was born one of eight in Camberwell, South London to a French father and a Malagasy mother[1] and grew up on the North Peckham Estate. Lessore attended St Thomas the Apostle College. After leaving, he worked various jobs and started writing at age 24 while working in a call centre.[2] Lessore completed a year-long foundation course and graduated with a degree in Creative Writing from the University of East London. He worked in marketing before pursuing writing professionally.[3]
Career
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Lessore reworked the three chapters he started for his dissertation. Via a four-way auction and two-book deal in 2022, Hot Key Books (a Bonnier imprint) acquired the rights to publish Lessore’s debut novel Steady for This in 2023.[4] Steady for This won the Branford Boase Award. It was also shortlisted for a Jhalak Prize and the Carnegie Medal.
This was followed by Lessore’s second novel King of Nothing in 2024. King of Nothing won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Readers, the Jhalak Prize in the Children’s and Young Adult category, and the Carnegie Medal’s Shadowers’ Choice Award.
Announced in 2024,[5] Little Tiger acquired the rights to publish Lessore’s middle grade Not My Superpower series illustrated by Simran Singh. In addition, Lessore reunited with Hot Key Books for the publication of What Happens Online in 2025.[6] What Happens Online was shortlisted for a Books Are My Bag Readers’ Awards and a British Audio Award.
In 2026, Lessore was nominated for the Ruth Rendell Award. His next teen novel Against All Odds featured on the 2026 World Book Day list.[7]
Bibliography
Standalone
- Steady for This (2023) (released as Dropping Beats in the U.S.)
- King of Nothing (2024)
- What Happens Online (2025)
- Against All Odds (2026)
- Like A Brother (2026)
Not My Superpower
- Solving Crime is NOT My Superpower (2025)
- Time Travel Is NOT My Superpower (2025)
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jhalak Prize | Children’s and Young Adult | Steady for This | Shortlisted | [8][9] |
| Carnegie Medal | Shortlisted | [10] | |||
| Branford Boase Award | Won | [11] | |||
| 2025 | Waterstones Children’s Book Prize | Older Readers | King of Nothing | Won | [12] |
| Jhalak Prize | Children’s and Young Adult | Won | [13] | ||
| Carnegie Medal | Shadowers’ Choice Award | Won | [14][1] | ||
| Books Are My Bag Readers’ Awards | Young Adult Fiction | What Happens Online | Shortlisted | [15] | |
| British Audio Awards | Best Audiobook: Young Adult | Shortlisted | [16] | ||
| 2026 | ALCS Annual Awards | Ruth Rendell Award | Shortlisted | [17] | |
References
- ^ a b “A conversation with Carnegie Shadowers’ Choice winner – Nathanael Lessore”. Sadé. 3 July 2025. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ Ramirez, Isabel (24 April 2023). “Peckham author hopes to inspire teens to keep reading with his new book”. Southwark News. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ “Former student publishes debut novel”. University of East London. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
- ^ Fraser, Katie (22 June 2022). “Hot Key Books wins four-way auction for ‘future star’ Lessore in two-book deal”. The Bookseller. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Brown, Lauren (24 April 2024). “Little Tiger bags Nathanael Lessore’s ‘brilliantly funny’ middle-grade series”. The Bookseller. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Wood, Heloise (28 August 2024). “Hot Key Books signs two from Nathanael Lessore”. The Bookseller. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Jack, Lauren (3 March 2026). “World Book Day 2026: Here is every single £1 book available during World Book Day 2026”. The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
- ^ Spanoudi, Melinda (30 May 2024). “Yepoka Yeebo and Hiba Noor Khan win the Jhalak Prizes”. The Bookseller. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ “Hiba Noor Khan is announced as the Jhalak Prize 2024 Children’s and YA Winner”. Love Reading 4 Kids. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ Creamer, Ella (13 March 2024). “Carnegie medal for children’s books shortlist announced”. The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ Spanoudi, Melina (10 July 2024). “Nathanael Lessore’s story of a ‘lovable teen rapper’ wins the 2024 Branford Boase Award”. The Bookseller. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
- ^ Creamer, Ella (27 March 2025). “The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods wins Waterstones children’s book prize”. The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
- ^ Wood, Heloise (4 June 2025). “Mimi Khalvati, NS Nuseibeh and Nathanael Lessore win the 2025 Jhalak Prizes”. The Bookseller. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ “Carnegie 2025 shortlists announced”. Books+Publishing. 2025-03-12. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
- ^ “2025 Books Are My Bag Readers Awards”. Locus. 5 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ^ “Speakies 2025: British Audio Awards Winners Announced”. Listening Books. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ^ “Ruth Rendell Award 2026 shortlist announced”. ALCS. 13 February 2026. Retrieved 15 April 2026.