Events:
Being Brave, Being Curious
LGBTQ representation in YA literature is on the up so we were delighted to be involved in the development of a panel discussion at the Australia and New Zealand Festival of Literature and Arts event on Saturday 31st May. Chaired by B.J Epstein (author of
Are the Kids All Right?), and featuring James Dawson, Alyssa Brugman, and Rebecca Root, the panel will discuss the importance of LGBTQ representation and explore issues of heteronormativity and the authenticity of characters. With the recent launch of
Alex As Well (Alyssa Brugman) and the forthcoming publication of
This Book is Gay (James Dawson), this is sure to be a fascinating and lively discussion. For full details or to book tickets visit the
festival website.
Vango with IBBY and Walker Books
On Thursday 5 June, Alex will be facilitating a discussion between translator Sarah Ardizonne, publisher Jane Winterbotham and authors Timothée de Fombelle and Lydia Syson. De Fombelle is coming to the UK specially for this event, to mark the publication of the second of his powerful ‘Vango’ series in the UK. For more information and to reserve a place, visit the IBBY website.
Projects:
New project targets international books
Outside In World is the UK organisation concerned with books from around the world. Recent support from the Arts Council of England is funding ‘Reading the Way’, a new project aimed at identifying exceptionally accessible and/or inclusive books from around the world and bringing them to the UK to be assessed by schools, families, disability organisations and publishers. It’s hoped that the project will result in a list of international examples of best practice, and perhaps even the UK publication of one or more of the titles. Outside In World are keen to hear from anyone with suggestions for books or interested in helping with focus groups/assessment of the books. Contact Alex for more details.
Training:
Sharjah
May saw Alex invited to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to run a workshop for writers, publishers and disability workers. She delivered a day’s training on all aspects of making books inclusive and accessible and participated in a two-day congress on books and disability issues. Particularly impressive in the organisation of the UAE activity was the close collaboration between disabled people and the book publishing industry and the general agreement that disabled people themselves need to be given a voice and stories need to be authentic. The trip has resulted in a wealth of new ideas, books and contacts for Inclusive Minds. And for Sharjah, the event is clearly being seen as representing a starting point for more activity in this area and further events are being considered. We’ll try to keep you posted through our newsletter.
Inclusion in Literacy at CLPE
We were delighted to be invited to run training at
CLPE on the 21st May looking at the importance of inclusive books in the primary classroom. The session formed part of CLPE's professional seminar series, and gave us the opportunity to share our knowledge and passion for diversity, as well as some of our favourite diverse and inclusive books, with literacy coordinators. We were delighted that our partners
Letterbox Library were also there on the day to display and sell their fabulous range of books and back up our message.
Other announcements:
Call for diversity beta readers
Sometimes in the call for better diversity, inclusion and equality in literature, it's easy to forget the importance of authenticity. It's for this reason that it was great to see a call out on Twitter from Alice Nuttall for beta readers for her novel to help her improve her representations of people of colour. Read Alice's full request on her
blog, and get in touch if you think you can help.
