Alex Wheatle, the U.K. author known for his Crongton series of young adult novels, has died at 62, the Guardian reports.

Wheatle was born and raised in London, and as a young man he was jailed for his participation in the 1981 Brixton riot. The riot was a clash between London police and young people protesting law enforcement’s “stop and search” policy, in which mostly white police officers targeted youths in the district, home to a large Black community.

He made his literary debut in 1999 with the novel Brixton Rock. Wheatle reinvented himself as a young adult novelist in 2015 with Liccle Bit, the first in what would become the Crongton series of books, which also includes Crongton Knights, Straight Outta Crongton, Home Girl, and In the Ends.

The books, which follow a group of young people growing up in a housing project, form the basis for Crongton, a BBC show that premiered this month. Wheatle’s most recent book to be released in the U.S., Sufferah: The Memoir of a Brixton Reggae-Head, was published in 2023 by Akashic; in a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called it “a striking tribute to reggae’s ability to protect a fragile soul when seemingly everything else had failed him.”

Wheatle’s admirers paid tribute to him on social media. On the social platform X, author Irenosen Okojie wrote, “Devastated by the passing of my close friend & former mentor the great Alex Wheatle…Firebrand. Rabble Rouser. Rare Bird. His appeal was intergenerational.”

And BBC reporter Ashley John-Baptiste posted, “Just read the tragic news about Alex Wheatle’s passing after his fight with prostate cancer. His writing on the care system is a gift to all who’ve navigated time in care. Before writing my book, I DM’d him on this app & he was so generous with advice. A true legend. Gutted.”

Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.