Joshua Seigal

Joshua Seigal
Born
London, England, U.K.
EducationGoldsmiths, University of London
OccupationsChildren's poet, writer, stand-up comedian
Writing career
Notable workI Don't Like Poetry (2016) Yapping Away (2021)
Websitejoshuaseigal.co.uk

Joshua Seigal is an English children's poet, author, stand-up comedian, and educator.[1]

Early life and education

Joshua Seigal grew up in London, during which time he regularly performed at the Poetry Café 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. Examples of this work have 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] Seigal maintains a website, where he continues to share much of his material.[16]

Seigal is a mental health advocate[17] and has suffered from anxiety.[18]

Awards

  • Poetry Wales Award (2026) – Highly Commended [19]
  • UKLA Book Award (2025) – Longlisted [20]
  • Reading Rocks Book Award (2024) – Winner [21]
  • Laugh Out Loud Book Award (2023) – Winner [22]
  • Caterpillar Poetry Prize (2023) – Runner-Up [23]
  • The People's Book Prize (2022) – Winner [24]
  • Laugh Out Loud Book Award (2020) – Winner [25]
  • Laugh Out Loud Book Award (2017) – Shortlisted [26]

Books

  • 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)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Seigal, Joshua. "Children's Poet". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  2. ↑ "Authorgraph No.243: Joshua Seigal". Books For Keeps.
  3. ↑ "Joshua Seigal: So How Did You Get Into Poetry, Then?". Children's Poetry Summit. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  4. ↑ "GUEST POET 3 - JOSHUA SEIGAL". BrianMoses Blog.
  5. ↑ "Children's poet proves inspirational". Evesham Observer. 1 April 2019.
  6. ↑ "Walliams, Seigal and Robinson win at the Lollies children's book awards". The Bookseller. 6 February 2020.
  7. ↑ "Adeola and Rutter among Lollies 2023 winners". The Bookseller. 13 July 2023.
  8. ↑ "2021/2022 Winners". The People's Book Prize. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  9. ↑ "Primary Poetry". BBC. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  10. ↑ "Joshua Seigal presents The Legend Of Ooshus Magooshus (And Lots Of Other Poems) (Joshua Seigal / PBH's Free Fringe)". Three Weeks Edinburgh. 29 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "I Don't Like Poetry". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  12. ↑ "Joshua Seigal". Comedy Club 4 Kids. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Poetry Wales 59.2 Winter 2023". Poetry Wales. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  14. ↑ "Here We All Are". Author blog. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  15. ↑ Flood, Alison (20 March 2020). "'This is a scary time': coronavirus emergency fund set up for authors". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  16. ↑ "Joshua Seigal official website".
  17. ↑ "Welcome To My Crazy Life: an interview with Joshua Seigal". The Reading Realm. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  18. ↑ "And So I Write: A Poet's Journey with Relationship Anxiety". Conscious Transitions.
  19. ↑ Turpin, Frances (18 August 2026). "Poetry Wales Award 2026: The Winners". Poetry Wales. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "UKLA Book Awards". UKLA UK Literacy Association. 24 September 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  21. ↑ "Joshua Seigal Bloomsbury Profile". Bloomsbury.com. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Adeola and Rutter among Lollies 2023 winners". The Bookseller. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  23. ↑ "Butterfly Necklace". Irish Times. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  24. ↑ "2022 Children's Literature Winner Joshua Seigal Talks About His Book 'Yapping Away'". YouTube. The People's Book Prize. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  25. ↑ "'Poetry Collection Wins Lollies'". ReadingZone. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  26. ↑ "Scholastic UK announce Lollies 2017 Shortlist of Funniest Books in Children's Literature". Primary Times. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
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