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Lex Croucher

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Lex Croucher (born 8 March 1992) is an English author and YouTuber. Croucher began their career on YouTube before going into writing with her debut non-fiction book You're Crushing It (2019) and novel Reputation (2021). Their Arthurian novel Gwen & Art Are Not in Love (2023) won the 2024 YA Book Prize among other accolades.

Lex Croucher
Croucher in 2016
Born (1992-03-08) 8 March 1992 (age 32)
Alma materUniversity of Southampton
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2008–present
Subscribers118,000 Edit this at Wikidata[1]
(October 2024)
Last updated: 16 October 2021
Websitewww.lexcroucher.co.uk

Early life and education

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Croucher grew up in Surrey. They graduated from the University of Southampton with a degree in English.[2][3]

Career

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YouTube

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Having done some BlogTV shows and discovered AmazingPhil through MySpace,[4] Croucher created their YouTube channel under the username tyrannosauruslexxx on 2 June 2008.[5] Also inspired by the likes of fiveawesomegirls, charlieissocoollike, and John Green, Croucher would use their phone camera to film videos.[3] In 2011, Croucher won Google's NextUp grant, which allowed them to buy a "proper camera", laptop, and editing equipment and go to VidCon.[4] By 2013, Croucher had over 60 thousand subscribers, and their content shifted from autobiographical vlogs towards advice and opinion pieces.[6][7] As of September 2020, Croucher's main channel had over 120 thousand subscribers.[8][9] Croucher has been on an indefinite hiatus from YouTube since 2021.

In addition, Croucher created the side channels lexcanroar in 2008, featuring mostly vlogs,[10] and girlyashell, featuring beauty content.[6] From 2011 to 2014, Croucher was a member of the collaboration channel Sarcaschicks.[11]

At both Summer in the City (SitC) and VidCon, Croucher co-founded and chaired the Women on YouTube panel from 2012,[4] discussing the experiences of women creators in an online space. The SitC 2015 panel included Cherry Wallis, Theadora Lee, Dodie Clark, Laci Green, Lucy Moon and Jana Damanhouri.[12]

Due to their sex education-related videos, in 2014, Croucher was invited to appear on the BBC Two programme Newsnight to discuss the new NICE guidelines around the morning-after pill.[4]

In 2017 and 2018, Croucher hosted an advice podcast with fellow YouTuber Rosianna Halse Rojas titled Make Out With Him, with a focus on dating and relationships.[13][14]

Writing

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After graduating from university, Croucher contributed to HuffPost UK and had a WordPress-based blog.[7]

As announced in 2018, Croucher began their professional writing career with You're Crushing It: Positivity for Living Your Real Life, a non-fiction self-help guide aimed at teenagers published by Bloomsbury Children' Books in 2019.[15][16] Croucher described it as written for their teenage self.[17]

In September 2019, shortly after Croucher first spoke of it on at SitC,[18] Zaffre (a Bonnier Books imprint) picked up the rights to publish Croucher's debut fiction novel Reputation, a Regency era-set romantic comedy,[8] in July 2021, billed as Mean Girls meets Jane Austen.[19] Zaffre acquired the rights to two further Regency novels from Croucher in February 2022:[20] Infamous,[21] published 21 July 2022, and Trouble,[22] published a year later.[23] The former had a US release via St Martin's Press Infamous in March 2023.[24] Croucher was nominated for the 2023 TikTok Book Award for Author of the Year.[25]

Also in 2023, Croucher released their first young adult (YA) novel Gwen & Art Are Not in Love via Bloomsbury UK in the UK and Commonwealth and Wednesday Books (a St Martin's Press imprint) in the US; both publishers had acquired the rights back in 2021.[26] The Arthurian Camelot-set novel centres on the arranged betrothal between a medieval lesbian princess and a gay duke.[27][28] Croucher told The Bookseller, "I wanted it to be absolutely over-the-top ridiculous, funny, escapist; full of things like flirty sword fights and terrible puns".[29] Gwen & Art Are Not in Love won the 2024 YA Book Prize and the 2023 Books Are In My Bag Readers Award for Young Adult Fiction.[30] It was also shortlisted for an inaugural Nero Book Award, a Barnes & Noble Award and another TikTok Book Award,[31][32][33] and longlisted for the Branford Boase Award.[34] It has been nominated for a Polari Prize.[35]

Croucher reunited with Bloomsbury UK for the release of their second YA medieval romance Not For the Faint of Heart, a Robin Hood reimagining. In March 2024, Croucher signed a two-standalone book deal with Gollancz (an Orion Publishing Group imprint), which won a 10-way bidding war for the rights to The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones, a fantasy YA novel.[36]

Philanthropy and activism

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As part of their YouTube career, Croucher traveled to Syria with the charity Save the Children.[37]

In 2015, Croucher started an online petition calling on Sea Life London Aquarium to improve its penguins' living conditions, which garnered media attention and over 100 thousand signatures.[38]

In April 2020, Croucher presented a video for Greenpeace's channel and website titled Do hashtags and petitions actually work?; in the video, Croucher discusses the effectiveness of online activism (via petitions, social media and hashtags) and the term slacktivist.[39]

In 2020, Croucher added their name to an open letter from The Second Shelf, a feminist bookstore, showing their support for the transgender and non-binary community, along with over 200 other authors.[40]

Personal life

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Croucher lives in London.[2] In 2020, Croucher came out as non-binary via Twitter,[41][42] which they elaborated on in a YouTube video.[43]

Bibliography

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Non-fiction

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  • You're Crushing It: Positivity for living your REAL life (2019)

Adult

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  • Reputation (2021)
  • Infamous (2022)
  • Trouble (2023)

Young adult

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  • Gwen & Art Are Not in Love (2023)
  • Not for the Faint of Heart (2024)
  • The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones (2025)
  • Untitled (2026)

Accolades

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Year Title Award Category Result Ref
2023 — TikTok Book Awards Author of the Year Shortlisted [25]
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards Young Adult Fiction Won [30]
Nero Book Awards Children's Fiction Shortlisted [31]
2024 Branford Boase Award — Longlisted [34]
Barnes & Noble Children's and YA Awards Young Adult Shortlisted [32]
TikTok Book Awards Book of the Year Shortlisted [33]
YA Book Prize — Won [29]
Polari Prize Children's and YA Pending [35]

References

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  1. ^ "About Lex Croucher". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b Waller, Rhian (14 July 2023). "Writers in Residence 2024 shortlist announced!". Gladstones Library. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b Armstrong, Stephen; Henry, Robin (27 November 2011). "Charge of the viral video". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2 October 2024.(subscription required)
  4. ^ a b c d Tostevin, Daniel (29 May 2016). "Lex Croucher: Social Justice Worrier". TenEighty Magazine. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  5. ^ Lex Croucher. "About" – via YouTube.
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Tim (7 April 2023). "YouTube superstars: the generation taking on TV – and winning". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b Lanning, Carly (29 May 2015). "How WCW Lex Croucher came to voice my internal monologue". Daily Dot. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  8. ^ a b Hackett, Tamsin (23 September 2020). "Zaffre lands 'feminist take on Regency romance' from Lex Croucher". The Bookseller. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  9. ^ O'Neill, Bronwyn (4 July 2021). "REVIEW: Reputation fills the Bridgerton shaped hole in our hearts". Evoke. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  10. ^ "lexcanroar". YouTube. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  11. ^ "sarcaschicks". YouTube. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  12. ^ Pearce, Tilly Jeanette (16 August 2015). "Women on YouTube Panel at Summer in the City 2015". TenEighty Magazine. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  13. ^ Skubich, Daria (10 April 2017). "Lex and Rosianna Release Relationship Advice Podcast". TenEighty Magazine. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  14. ^ Quinn Rose (27 March 2018). "Six YouTuber Podcasts You Need to Check Out". TenEighty Magazine. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  15. ^ Eyre, Charlotte (27 November 2018). "Bloomsbury Children's to publish YouTuber Lex Croucher". The Bookseller. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  16. ^ "10 Things We Learnt From Lex Croucher's You're Crushing It!". United by Pop. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  17. ^ Fox, Benji T (3 December 2018). "Lex Croucher To Release First Book". TenEighty Magazine. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Interviewing YouTubers about books: Hannah Witton, Lex Croucher and Sanne Vliegenthart". Hey Sarah Here. August 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  19. ^ Xenos, Natalie (8 July 2021). "Book Review: Reputation by Lex Croucher". CultureFly. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  20. ^ Murphy, Lily (2022-02-23). "Zaffre scoops two new 'Regency romps' by Lex Croucher". Bonnier Books. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  21. ^ Koehler, Mimi (21 March 2023). "Review: Infamous by Lex Croucher". The Nerd Daily. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  22. ^ Stepaniuk, Casey (8 April 2024). "Bi4Bi Romance Thrives in This New Queer Regency-Era Rom-Com". Autostraddle. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  23. ^ Casey (8 April 2024). "Bi4Bi Romance Thrives in This New Queer Regency-Era Rom-Com". Autostraddle. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  24. ^ Wood, Heloise (23 February 2022). "Zaffre snaps up two more Regency romps from Croucher". The Bookseller. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  25. ^ a b Navlakha, Meera (2023-07-17). "Check out the shortlist for TikTok's inaugural book awards". Mashable. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  26. ^ Comerford, Ruth (9 August 2021). "Bloomsbury bags Croucher's queer medieval YA debut". The Bookseller. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  27. ^ Johnson, Allyson (27 November 2023). "'Gwen & Art Are Not In Love' review: A romantic romp by Lex Croucher". InBetweenDrafts. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  28. ^ McEntee, Billy (24 November 2023). "Lex Croucher on writing a queer Medieval romance". IntoMore. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  29. ^ a b "Lex Croucher's Gwen & Art announced as winner of the YA Book Prize 2024". The Bookseller. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  30. ^ a b "Books Are My Bag Readers Awards 2023". National Book Tokens. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  31. ^ a b Bayley, Sian (21 November 2023). "Catton, Croucher, Crewe and Brady on inaugural Nero Book Awards shortlists". The Bookseller. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  32. ^ a b McConville, Isabelle (27 March 2024). "Celebrate the 2024 Barnes & Noble Children's and YA Awards Shortlist". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  33. ^ a b Fraser, Katie (1 July 2024). "Lisa Jewell, Lex Croucher and Rebecca Kuang shortlisted for the TikTok Book Awards". The Bookseller. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  34. ^ a b Wood, Heloise (24 January 2024). "Lizzie Huxley-Jones and Lex Croucher longlisted for Branford Boase award". The Bookseller. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  35. ^ a b Creamer, Ella (30 September 2024). "Polari prize shortlists include Munroe Bergdorf, Jon Ransom and Lex Croucher". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  36. ^ Bayley, Sian (12 March 2024). "Gollancz triumphs in 10-way bidding war for two books from Lex Croucher". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  37. ^ Croucher, Lex (17 September 2013). "Saving Syria's Children". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  38. ^ Rogers Lowry, Brie (19 January 2015). "5 worthwhile campaigns to support on Change". The Independent. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  39. ^ Abelvik-Lawson, Helle (9 April 2020). "Does online activism really work?". Greenpeace UK. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  40. ^ Bollinger, Alex. "Celebrities & authors are picking sides in J.K. Rowling's war on trans people". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  41. ^ Eyre, Charlotte (17 April 2023). "Lex Croucher on their Arthurian-set children's debut, love and happy endings". The Bookseller. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  42. ^ Croucher, Lex [@lexcanroar] (15 December 2020). "hi. so. I'm non-binary. I had no plans to ~announce this~ as it feels personal & nbd to anybody else, but I'm doing it because the people who believe your gender has to correspond with your sex assigned at birth are VERY loud right now. I'm fine with any pronouns! that's all" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2023 – via Twitter.
  43. ^ I don't know what my gender is and at this point I'm too afraid to ask. Lex Croucher. 28 March 2021. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023 – via YouTube.
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