Joseph Coelho is a British poet and children's book author who was elected Children's Laureate in 2022. In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Coelho grew up in a tower block in Roehampton, England, the son of a single parent. Before being published, Coelho worked extensively in schools engaging young people with literacy through the medium of poetry, 

In 2022 Coelho was appointed the Children's Laureate. He has said that poetry was often what people turned to in times of need, “because we instinctively know, deep down in our core, that poetry transcends”. As part of his tenure as Children's Laureate he will focus on various different projects, Poetry Prompts, Bookmaker Like You and the Library Marathon. He launched Poetry Prompts, a set of online writing activities to inspire people to write their own poetry.Additionally, he started a programme called Bookmaker Like You, which celebrates the authors, illustrators and publishers who underpin book creation. As part of the Library Marathon Coelho will visit a library in every local authority across the United Kingdom.