Description
This tribute to Joan Lingard, the late and much–missed author, is a celebration of her work, which used fiction to show young people that friendship and empathy could triumph over prejudice.
These ideas are discussed by Joan’s daughter, Kersten England, and author, Mariam Ansar, as they explore how attitudes to politics, identity and communities in conflict have changed over time in young adult books.
From Lingard’s Kevin and Sadie series of popular novels set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles to Ansar’s Good for Nothing exploring contemporary Bradford, they will consider why the representation of young people facing conflict issues and identity problems is just as crucial for young readers today as it was in the past. Join them and panel chair, Jonathan Douglas, CEO of the National Literacy Trust, as they celebrate Joan’s legacy alongside emerging new voices in young adult fiction.
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About the Speakers
CBE Kersten England
Kersten England has been Chief Executive of Bradford Council since 2015, where she has a passion for building resilient and confident communities. She is a member of the Council of the University of Bradford and a Director of the UK City of Culture 2025 Trust Board.
Despite her Edinburgh accent, she regards herself as a bona fide Bradfordian and Yorkshire woman, having lived and worked in Yorkshire for most of her adult life and bringing her children up in the great city of Bradford.
Mariam Ansar
Mariam Ansar is a freelance writer and secondary school teacher. Her writing was personally selected by guest editor Kate Bush to feature in The Mays Anthology 2017/18 – a collection of the best new writing from Oxford and Cambridge. She was the first recipient of the At Sea writing residency and was also an Editorial Fellow at BuzzFeed UK. Her work – which ranges from feature writing to politics to film studies and music – has been featured in NME, gal-dem, VICE, Dazed, Catapult Story, Rookie Magazine, Teen Vogue, Elite Daily, and many others. Good For Nothing is her debut novel.
About the Chair
Jonathan Douglas
Jonathan Douglas CBE, Hon FRSL is Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust. Jonathan is on the Advisory Committee of The Booker Prize, a trustee for World Book Day and The Philosophy Foundation, and a Governor at his local primary school. In 2020, Jonathan was awarded a CBE for services to education and in 2021 he was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
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