MA Children's Literature

Challenging perspectives

As someone who was trying to break into the elusive world of children's publishing, attending the MA in Children's Literature at Goldsmiths was one of the best decisions I ever made. The Theoretical Approaches pathway challenged the way I interacted with and thought about children's literature.

Culturally relevant and industry-focused modules

I especially appreciated the care with which the course explored culturally relevant issues. There was a commitment to diversity and inclusion, with one entire course dedicated to how culture and diversity affect children's literature. The Theoretical Approaches pathway allowed me to explore different areas of interest, such as postcolonialism, feminism, and archetypal theory as they relate to Young Adult novels.

I was even able to take a children’s publishing course that focused on the different roles within publishing, which helped me narrow down where I felt that I would fit. Within that class, we were introduced to industry professionals, who gave essential insight into what the industry is like.

Life after Goldsmiths

This MA gave me the confidence to apply for a mentorship at a literary agency, which I was later awarded along with the WNDB (We Need Diverse Books) internship grant. I am now a literary assistant at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, working toward becoming a literary agent.

I owe a lot of my success to this MA’s excellent courses, in-depth conversations, and knowledgeable staff who supported me and my goals throughout the year.

Well-connected campus

As someone who lived in student accommodations further from campus, I was impressed by how well-connected it was – two stations are very close to campus. New Cross was a lovely area with multiple coffee shops, a bookstore, and many cafes.

Moving to London

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the transition from home to London was. The Goldsmiths staff were very good at sending emails and information regarding visas or anything else we needed.

I was also surprised by how international of a school it was. I was able to make friends from all over the world, as well as many people from my own home country.

Advice for future students

University is a time for you to push yourself and grow. Whether that is living in a student dorm, meeting new people, or joining a club or sports team, this is a time for you to find out who you truly are and what you truly want.

I moved halfway across the world for this experience, to learn and to grow, and it became one of the best years of my life. If you don't take risks, you'll never grow.

Harry completed his MA in Children’s Literature at Goldsmith’s in 2019 and has written three middle-grade novels and a book of prompts for reluctant writers of all ages.

Harry completed his MA in Children’s Literature at Goldsmith’s in 2019 and has written three middle-grade novels and a book of prompts for reluctant writers of all ages. More details can be accessed on his website http://www.harryoulton.co.uk/books/.

Harry started a PhD at Goldsmiths in Children’s Literature in 2020 with the working title of “Arrowfall - the methodology of Adaptation in YA Historical Fiction”. The Paston Letters are a series of over 1000 letters written between members of the same family in the 15^th century. They are readily accessible, and Harry is using them as his principal source material in the creation of Arrowfall, a contemporaneous Young Adult Historical novel. This is the same creative process followed in 1883 by Robert Louis Stevenson when he wrote the YA novel The Black Arrow, and Helen Castor in 2004 when she wrote Blood and Roses, a biography of the Paston family. Arrowfall will interact with all three texts, creating a pyramid of adaptation and informing the choices he makes during the writing process. He will also be drawing on outlaw narratives, from Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe up to the 2017 Netflix series Casa de Papel. Historical Fiction is itself the product of an adaptive contradiction; by necessity, it involves the insertion of fiction into a truth, and this uneasy juxtaposition is best examined and accessed using an adaptation studies methodology. As HF is often used pedagogically, he is working within both the creative writing and the education faculties of Goldsmiths. The pedagogic aspect must consider fidelity, which will ensure he, in turn, addresses the fundamental question at the heart of adaptation; should an adaptation bring the source text to the reader, or should it take the reader to the text?

Helen is researching her PhD thesis into children’s comics-making at Goldsmiths University, having previously studied for a foundation diploma at Camberwell College of Art.

Helen is researching her PhD thesis into children’s comics-making at Goldsmiths University, having previously studied a foundation diploma at Camberwell College of Art, a BA (Hons) in Communication at Cardiff University, a PGCE in Primary Education at Middlesex University and an MA in Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths University. Helen is a lecturer in primary education at UCL, Institute of Education. Prior to this, she was a teacher in primary schools in London for twelve years, during which time she had a range of roles in both leadership and the classroom. Helen currently runs an after-school comic club for children in a local primary school. She has three young children who are all enthusiastic readers and makers of comics and graphic novels.

Helen has been awarded a Goldsmiths, Department of Educational Studies scholarship for her PhD studies. She has published articles and presented at conferences on her specialist area:

Jones, H. (2021). Developing a comic library to support children reading for pleasure. English 4-11, Summer 2021

Jones, H. (2021). Caticorns and Derp Warz: Exploring children’s comic making and literacy worlds in an after school comic club. Presented at: Transitions 9.

Jones, H. (2020). Caticorns and Derp Warz: Exploring children’s literacy worlds through the production of comics. Studies in Comics, 11 (1), 59-93.

Jones, H. (2019). It is awesome and you get to swap fun, funny and fantasy!' How a comic lending library impacted on the reading habits of Y3 pupils. Presented at: UKLA 55th International Conference.

Jones, H. (2019). New Ways to Promote Reading for Pleasure with Michael Rosen. Panel discussion at: New Ways to Promote Reading for Pleasure with Michael Rosen.