Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Benjamin Zephaniah, scholastic

Benjamin Zephaniah's Windrush Child Gets A Graphic Novel Adaptation

Benjamin Zephaniah's Windrush Child gets a graphic novel adaptation by Markia Jenai for Scholastic Graphix UK

Scholastic Graphix UK are to publish a graphic novel adaptation of the late Benjamin Zephaniah's Windrush Child by Markia Jenai. Benjamin Zephaniah was a British Jamaican writer, dub poet and prominent Rastafarian, and was named by The Times as one of Britain's top 50 post-war writers, specifically for his poetry as well as his autobiographical book Windrush Child, named after one of the boats that brought West Indian immigrants to the UK for the post-war rebuilding of Britain. He died in 2023.⁠

Markia Jenai is a Detroit-based artist, a graduate of both Kendall College of Art and Design and Academy of Art, where she studied Illustration and Visual Development. Her work includes Yasuke, Dead Yard, If I Were Invisible, Girls Survive, Dark Dawn, Juneteenth Celebrates Freedom, Rebecca Lee Crumpler, Shirley Chisholm, Major Taylor, Henry Louis Gates, Anna Maria Weems, Toni Stone and more.

Elizabeth Scoggins, publisher of Scholastic said: "We were honoured to publish Windrush Child and we are further honoured to have another opportunity to share it with a wider audience in graphic-novel form. Benjamin's words and Markia's illustrations are a perfect pairing, bringing the Windrush vividly to life and offering a new medium to remember such an important part of our history. We are grateful that Benjamin's wife, Qian, has trusted us to continue Benjamin's work. We hope that this new edition of Windrush Child will be a welcome addition to his ongoing legacy."⁠
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Jenai said: "Black folks the world over know too well the story of migration, be it forced or by choice. The promise of a better life and more opportunities is something we all have heard, no matter your point of origin. What isn't common is the world hearing about the sacrifice, struggle and loss for the sake of 'a better life'. Benjamin Zephaniah's work is a raw telling of migration. Both his love and frustration jump out in his writing. It is my hope that I do his story justice, as it means the world to me to be able to assist in helping children appreciate their roots and understand their history."⁠

Qian said: "Benjamin's voice, a rhythm of resistance and love, now finds new wings in Markia's art. He dreamed stories as living bridges – between past and present, struggle and hope. May these illustrated pages carry the Windrush spirit to young souls, seeding futures where every child knows their roots, their history, and soars."⁠

Windrush Child: Graphic Novel will be published on the 12th of March, 2026.
In this heart-stopping story, Benjamin Zephaniah shows us what it was like to be a child of the Windrush generation.
Leonard is shocked when he arrives to the cold, grey shores of England from warm Jamaica and struggles to adjust to his new life. His parents say they moved to Great Britain in order to make a better life, so he does his best not to complain, even when the food tastes different, he struggles to make friends, and even when people hurt him with their words. How does a 10-year-old boy so far from home learn to adapt to his new life despite moving away from his grandma and everything he loves? Now adapted into graphic novel form and illustrated by Markia Jenai, this powerful story about being a child of the Windrush generation is guaranteed to make an impact.

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