Lex Croucher
English author and YouTuber, winner of the 2024 YA Book Prize.
via Wikipedia: Lex Croucher · see source
Lex Croucher (born 8 March 1992) is an English author and YouTuber. They started making YouTube videos in 2008 under the username tyrannosauruslexxx, inspired by channels like fiveawesomegirls, charlieissocoollike, and John Green, and initially filmed with a phone camera. In 2011, a Google NextUp grant helped them buy better equipment and attend VidCon. By 2013, their main channel had over 60,000 subscribers, and their content shifted from autobiographical vlogs to advice and opinion pieces.
They also ran side channels—lexcanroar for vlogs and girlyashell for beauty—and were part of the collaboration channel Sarcaschicks from 2011 to 2014. At Summer in the City and VidCon, Croucher co-founded and chaired the Women on YouTube panel from 2012, discussing the experiences of women creators. In 2014, their sex education videos led to an appearance on BBC Two’s Newsnight to discuss morning-after pill guidelines. From 2017 to 2018, they hosted the advice podcast Make Out With Him with Rosianna Halse Rojas. Croucher has been on an indefinite YouTube hiatus since 2021.
After graduating from the University of Southampton with a degree in English, Croucher wrote for HuffPost UK and ran a WordPress blog. Their first book, the non-fiction self-help guide You’re Crushing It: Positivity for Living Your Real Life, was published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books in 2019. Their debut fiction novel, Reputation—a Regency-era romantic comedy described as Mean Girls meets Jane Austen—came out in July 2021 through Zaffre. Zaffre acquired two more Regency novels: Infamous (July 2022) and Trouble (2023). Infamous had a US release via St. Martin’s Press in March 2023. Croucher was nominated for the 2023 TikTok Book Award for Author of the Year.
In 2023, Croucher released their first young adult novel, Gwen & Art Are Not in Love, set in Arthurian Camelot and centered on the arranged betrothal between a lesbian princess and a gay duke. It won the 2024 YA Book Prize and the 2023 Books Are In My Bag Readers’ Award for Young Adult Fiction, and was shortlisted for an inaugural Nero Book Award, a Barnes & Noble Award, a Polari Prize, and another TikTok Book Award, and longlisted for the Branford Boase Award. A sequel, Bridget & Gabe Are Not Okay, is scheduled for August 2026. Their second YA medieval romance, Not For the Faint of Heart—a Robin Hood reimagining—was released by Bloomsbury UK. In March 2024, Croucher signed a two-book deal with Gollancz for The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones, a fantasy novel won in a 10-way bidding war.
Croucher has also been involved in activism. They traveled to Syria with Save the Children, and in 2015 started a petition that gained over 100,000 signatures calling on Sea Life London Aquarium to improve penguin living conditions. In April 2020, they presented a video for Greenpeace on the effectiveness of online activism. That same year, they added their name to an open letter from The Second Shelf supporting the transgender and non-binary community.
Croucher lives in London. In 2020, they came out as non-binary via Twitter, later elaborating in a YouTube video.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 8 March 1992
- Education
- University of Southampton
- YouTube handle
- LexCroucher
- YouTube years active
- 2008–present
Facts from the source article.
Career
Lex Croucher first got into online video after watching BlogTV shows and finding AmazingPhil on MySpace. They created a YouTube channel called tyrannosauruslexxx on 2 June 2008, drawing inspiration from fiveawesomegirls, charlieissocoollike, and John Green, and initially filmed clips with a phone camera. In 2011, Croucher received Google's NextUp grant, which paid for a video camera, laptop, and editing gear, and also covered a trip to VidCon. By 2013, their subscriber count had passed 60 thousand, and their videos moved away from personal vlogs toward advice and opinion content.
As of September 2020, the main channel had more than 120 thousand subscribers. Croucher has not uploaded since 2021, marking an indefinite break from YouTube. Two side channels also existed: lexcanroar, launched in 2008 for vlogs, and girlyashell, which focused on beauty. Between 2011 and 2014, Croucher was part of the collaborative channel Sarcaschicks.
At both Summer in the City and VidCon, they helped start and run the Women on YouTube panel from 2012, which explored the experiences of female creators. The 2015 SitC panel featured Cherry Wallis, Theadora Lee, Dodie Clark, Laci Green, Lucy Moon, and Jana Damanhouri. In 2014, Croucher appeared on BBC Two's Newsnight to talk about new NICE guidelines on the morning-after pill, thanks to their sex education videos. They also hosted the dating and relationships podcast Make Out With Him alongside Rosianna Halse Rojas in 2017 and 2018.
After finishing university, Croucher wrote for HuffPost UK and kept a WordPress blog. Their first published book was You're Crushing It: Positivity for Living Your Real Life, a non-fiction self-help guide for teenagers released by Bloomsbury Children's Books in 2019. In September 2019, Zaffre, an imprint of Bonnier Books, picked up Croucher's debut novel Reputation, a Regency-era romantic comedy described as Mean Girls meets Jane Austen, which came out in July 2021.
Two more Regency novels followed: Infamous, published on 21 July 2022, and Trouble, released a year later. Infamous had a US edition from St. Martin's Press in March 2023. Croucher was nominated for the 2023 TikTok Book Award for Author of the Year.
Philanthropy and activism
Croucher’s YouTube work included a trip to Syria alongside the charity Save the Children. In 2015, they launched an online petition urging Sea Life London Aquarium to upgrade its penguin habitat, a campaign that drew press coverage and collected more than 100,000 signatures. For Greenpeace in April 2020, Croucher hosted a video called Do hashtags and petitions actually work?, which examined the impact of online activism and the concept of a slacktivist. That same year, they joined over 200 other authors in signing an open letter from the feminist bookstore The Second Shelf, expressing solidarity with transgender and non-binary individuals.
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