University of Cambridge, 3-7 May 2021
'Let’s Talk about Sex in YA' was a 5 day conference which took place from 3 – 7 May 2021 with a follow up guest lecture on 8 May 2021 and an author event with Abdi Nazemian on 11 May 2021. This conference was originally planned to have taken place in Cambridge from 11-12 September 2020. Due to the pandemic, organising an international in-person event was very uncertain. So, it was decided to take “Let’s Talk About Sex in YA” online.
The conference consisted of a number of live events, including the keynote talks from Professor Kimberley Reynolds and Dr Lydia Kokkola, an ‘In Conversation' event with Dr Yolanda Hood and Stacy Collins, a guest lecture from Dr Lisa Chu Shen, and a character-building workshop by Dr Leah Phillips and Dr Melanie Ramdarshan Bold.
The papers from our delegates were made available on an online platform to be accessed by attendees asynchronously and at their own leisure. Each presenter provided a video recording and a transcript of their paper prior to the week of live events. As usual, presenters were grouped into panels for a live Q&A Roundtable about their research.
The conference had 50 speakers and nearly 600 registrations; attendees came from all over the world including Australia, Saudi Arabia, India, China, Europe, and North and South America.
Let's Talk About Sex in YA Conference
As part of the continuation of research from the conference, a special section from the conference is being organised and edited. This will include an introduction for the organisers and a selection of articles that bring together the strongest and most complementary papers from the conference that demonstrated innovative methodologies and approaches across a variety of social and cultural contexts. The special issue will therefore contribute to YA studies by foregrounding international and diverse perspectives on this central but complex topic in texts for young readers.
Conference Presentations
2022
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2021
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2020
2019
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2018
“Female control of voice in Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy”
Conceptions of Girlhood Now and Then: Girls’ Literature and Beyond, Linnæus University Växjö, Sweden
“Control of silence and voice as agency in Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy”
IRSCL conference: Silence and Silencing in Children's Literature, The Institute for Children’s Books, Stockholm, Sweden
“Radical Expectations: Subverting literary tropes in Patrick Ness’s The Rest Of Us Just Live Here”
ISSCL annual conference: Radical Young People’s Literature and Culture, Marino Institute of Education, Dublin
“Intergenerational solidarity as research approach: working with children as active participants in children’s literature research”
Intergenerational Solidarity in Children’s Literature, University of Cambridge
“Mister Orange and the Aesthetics of Age” co-written by Nic Hilton and Dr Vera Veldhuizen (online)IRSCL2021: Aesthetic and Pedagogic Entanglements, Centre for Educational Justice (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Santiago, Chile (Abstract Accepted/Paper cancelled due to illness)
“I'm not finished yet: intergenerational maturation in Young Adult literature" Adulthood as a Category of Historical Analysis Workshop, Newcastle University and the Leverhulme Trust
“Mister Orange and the Aesthetics of Age” co-written by Nic Hilton and Dr Vera Veldhuizen (online) The Child of the Future (revised paper from IRSCL2021)
“Gothic, Growth and Maturations in Supernatural Young Adult Literature” panel proposal with Dr Sarah Hardstaff and Meghanne Flynn. International Gothic Association, Trinity College Dublin.
Publications
Hilton and Duckels. ‘Let’s Talk about Sex in YA’ special section guest editors in the International Journal of Young Adult Literature. Published 2nd November 2022
"Mister Orange and the Aesthetics of Age” co-written by Nic Hilton and Dr Vera Veldhuizen. Adapting from IRSCL conference paper. In preparation.
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“Control of silence and voice as agency in Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy”. Adapting from IRSCL conference paper. In preparation.
Podcasts
Gin & Topic: Lancashire Gin Family & Maturation: What is it and why are YA books obsessed with it?​​ Recording 8th Sept, Published 4th March 2022, https://shows.acast.com/6169481116af5700128250d4/episodes/lancashire-gin-family-maturatioon
Blog Posts
"Liberation or Burden? Debating the Childist Turn" co-written by Nic Hilton and Madeleine Hunter on the Cambridge Children's Literature Blog
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"Escaping the Desk: Reflections on a Walking Seminar along Hadrian’s Wall" co-written by Nic Hilton and Dr Vera Veldhuizen on the Cambridge Children's Literature Blog