Future-Proofing Equality in Children’s Fiction
Bringing together children’s publishers, writers, illustrators, specialists, academics and students, this symposium will facilitate urgent conversations and bold ideas around equity in children’s storytelling
Presented by the Centre For Fiction, Manchester Metropolitan University
📅 Friday 14th November 2025 – 9.00am – 5.30pm
📍 Grosvenor East Theatre, Manchester Metropolitan University
In both historical and contemporary contexts, from the UK’s Section 28 to Russia’s ‘Law for the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating a Denial of Traditional Family Values’ and Florida’s HB 1467 and HB 1069 laws, the censorship and banning of children’s literature is traditionally the frontline of wider attempts to censor literature.
This Centre For Fiction one-day symposium explores the impact of an accelerating global political resistance to equality, diversity and inclusion (or, ‘woke’) in children’s publishing, and provides an opportunity to listen and learn from the experiences of authors, publishers and booksellers in the US, where the full force of executive, judicial and litigious power is having a chilling effect on minority representation in children’s books.
Bringing together children’s publishers, writers, illustrators, specialists, academics and students, this symposium will facilitate urgent conversations and bold ideas around equity in children’s storytelling – by acknowledging the present, listening to voices from the frontline, examining how the industry can resist regression, and considering meaningful action to create an inclusive future for children’s literature.
Central questions
From commissioning and acquisitions, through to international rights and sales, to censorship and book bans, how is the children’s publishing industry and workforce experiencing and responding to populist and far-right influence and legislation?
To what extent is the Trump administration’s aggressive rolling-back of institutional and corporate EDI initiatives in the US affecting inclusive children’s publishing?
What impact is this having on black, queer, disabled and migrant voices and characters – and on children’s access to them?
And what can we do, individually and collectively, to defend and advance equality in children’s fi ction for historically marginalised people and stories?
Bringing together children’s publishers, writers, illustrators, specialists, academics and students, this symposium will facilitate urgent conversations and bold ideas around equity in children’s storytelling – by acknowledging the present, listening to voices from the frontline, examining how the industry can resist regression, and considering meaningful action to create an inclusive future for children’s literature.
This symposium puts Manchester Metropolitan University front-and-centre in a planned longer series of urgent dialogues, including at the 2026 Bologna and Frankfurt book fairs, with practitioners across the children’s literature and publishing eco-system, around protecting black, queer, migrant and disabled voices and stories in children’s books from censorship and book bans
Dylan Calder, Centre For Fiction – Conference Convenor
Programme
| 9:00am | Registration |
| 9:30am | Opening |
| 9.45am | Keynote Global bestselling author-illustrator and MMU alumni David Roberts on illustrating queer histories in We Are Your Children. |
| 10:30 | Acknowledging The Present Taking stock of the state of representation in UK children’s publishing with a panel of leading experts including: Melanie Ramdarshan Bold University of Glasgow, CLPE’s ‘Reflecting Realities’, BookTrust’s ‘BookTrust Represents’ Beth Cox ‘Reflecting Disabilities’ Elorine Grant Harper Collins Jake Hope University of Central Lancashire, CILIP, Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals working panel Farrah Serroukh Centre for Literacy in Primary Education’s ‘Reflecting Realities’, 2018-2024 |
| 12:00pm | 12:00pm Disrupt & Innovate! Speakers and delegates are invited to pitch provocative ideas for innovation and enterprise in children’s literature and publishing to increase and secure equality in the field. Compered by Jasmine Richards, pioneering founder-director of children’s book packaging agency Storymix, and Children’s Bookseller Conference 2024 keynote speaker. |
| 1:15pm | 1.15pm Capturing Perspectives writing session |
| 1:30pm | Lunch |
| 2:15pm | 2.15pm Voices From The Frontline A series of short dialogues with authors, publishers, booksellers and librarians on the frontline of children’s book censorship and banning in the US, Canada and UK – with a rallying call to stand-up for black, queer, migrant and disabled representation in children’s books. Chaired by MMU Centre For Fiction’s Catherine Wilcox and featuring: Namarata Triparthi, Kokila Books, Penguin Random House US with Cherise Lopes Baker, Tate Children’s Books Jake Hope, CILIP with Amy McKay, librarian Robin Stevenson, author, Canadian Authors & Illustrators Against Book Bans with Queer Lit Bookstore Brena Fuhr, bookseller, writer, MMU Phd candidate and Emma Bradley, writer, MMU Phd candidate) |
| 3:45pm | 3.45pm Future-Proofing Equality: Evolving An Action Plan Reflecting on voices and stories from the day, this panel will explore what actions we all need to take to protect and advance equality, wherever we are in the children’s literature and publishing eco-system. Chaired by Dylan Calder, panel includes: Cherise Lopes Baker, Tate Children’s Books Meike Eckern, Frankfurt Book Fair Meera Ghanshamdas, Roundtable Books Franziska Liebig, Arts Council England Ken Wilson Max, Harper Collins, Alanna Max, author-illustrator Erika Meza, author-illustrator |
| 5:00pm | Capturing Perspectives illustration sessions |
| 5.15pm | Summing Up |
| 5.30pm | Closing |
