# Alex Wheatle

Alex Alphonso Wheatle MBE (3 January 1963 – 16 March 2025) was a British novelist. He was brought up in a children's care home from the age of two, his education subsequently suffering from numerous suspensions and expulsions from school. His connection with the written word was bolstered during a prison sentence he was serving after the 1981 Brixton riot in London, when his older Rastafarian cellmate introduced him to the writings of many impactful writers, as well as engaging him in discussions about African history.