Joshua Seigal
English children's poet and comedian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joshua Seigal is an English children's poet, author, stand-up comedian, and educator.[1]
Joshua Seigal | |
|---|---|
| Born | London, England, U.K. |
| Occupation | Children's poet, writer, stand-up comedian |
| Education | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| Notable works | I Don't Like Poetry (2016) Yapping Away (2021) |
| Website | |
| joshuaseigal | |
Early life and education
Joshua Seigal grew up in London, during which time he regularly performed at the Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden.[2] He earned a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing and Education from Goldsmiths, University of London, where he studied under Michael Rosen.[3] Prior to becoming a full-time writer and performer, Seigal spent time as a teaching assistant.[4]
Career
Seigal has published many collections of poetry for children, with publishers including Bloomsbury and HarperCollins, and has performed and led workshops at schools and festivals around the world.[5] Seigal has won several awards, including the Laugh Out Loud Book Award[6][7] and the People's Book Prize.[8] He has written and performed for BBC Television and has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on numerous occasions.[9][10]
Seigal's poem "I Don’t Like Poetry" (first published in his book of the same name) is featured on the website of the Poetry Foundation and is widely anthologised.[11]
He is also a stand-up comedian,[12] and writes and performs poetry for adults, his work having been published in magazines such as Poetry Wales.[13][14]
During the coronavirus pandemic, Seigal gave away many of his books online, stating: “This is an incredibly difficult, scary time. However, my job is based on sharing joy, and I am determined that I will keep doing this, in whatever form it takes.”[15]
Awards
- UKLA Book Award (2025) – longlist[16]
- Reading Rocks Book Award (2024) – winner[17]
- Laugh Out Loud Book Award (2023) – winner[18]
- Caterpillar Poetry Prize (2023) – runner-up[19]
- The People's Book Prize (2022) – winner[20]
- Laugh Out Loud Book Award (2020) – winner[21]
- Laugh Out Loud Book Award (2017) – shortlist[22]
Bibliography
- I Tell Myself I'm Awesome (Bloomsbury, 2026) (illustrated by Chris Piascik)
- I Am (Collins, 2024) (illustrated by Evelline Andrya)
- Poetry Is Not for Me (Collins, 2023) (illustrated by Rebecca Burgess)
- Who Let the Words Out? (Bloomsbury, 2023) (illustrated by Chris Piascik)
- Yapping Away (Bloomsbury, 2021) (illustrated by Sarah Horne)
- Welcome to My Crazy Life (Bloomsbury, 2020) (illustrated by Chris Piascik)
- I Bet I Can Make You Laugh (Bloomsbury, 2018) (illustrated by Tim Wesson)
- Yuck and Yum (Troika, 2018) with Neal Zetter (illustrated by Scoular Anderson)
- Just Like Me! (Flying Eye Books, 2017) (illustrated by Amélie Faliere)
- Morris Wants More (Flying Eye Books, 2017) (illustrated by Amélie Faliere)
- Little Lemur Laughing (Bloomsbury, 2017) (illustrated by Chris Piascik)
- I Don't Like Poetry (Bloomsbury, 2016) (illustrated by Chris Piascik)
