Awards – Vital North Partnership

A Place at the Table 2018

On 6th February 2018, thanks to a bursary from CILIP North East, I attended Inclusive Minds’ third annual A Place at the Table event at Penguin Random House in London. A Place at the Table aims to provide a space for the children’s book industry to share best practice around inclusion and diversity and commit to taking practical actions to effect change. In this blog post, I’ll be reflecting on the day and outlining some of the actions that Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books and Newcastle University are taking through the Vital North Partnership…

Author Juno Dawson, in her opening keynote, celebrated how far the publishing industry has come since the first A Place at the Table event in 2016. She mentioned lots of amazing books and authors – from Patrice Lawrence’s prize-winning debut Orangeboy, to Angie Thomas’s bestselling The Hate U Give – and new initiatives like CILIP’s current diversity review of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards. I noted lots of books I want to read – including Juno’s!

Author Juno Dawson opened the A Place at the Table event. Image: Inclusive Minds

Then there were the roundtable and forum discussions, where we discussed barriers to authentic inclusion, and identified ways to shift these. For Seven Stories, the artform of children’s literature is at the heart of everything they do – and it’s by going to events like this that they can flag up with publishers that inclusion is fundamental to the national story they aim to tell. Seven Stories’ workforce (like that of many arts organisations) is not particularly diverse – they’re aiming to shift that barrier through targeted pathways to work programmes from 2018 to 2022.

Highlights of the day for me were hearing from Year 10 pupil Jarvia, one of Inclusive Minds’ Ambassadors, about her reading experiences – she spoke about reading new writing on Wattpad as she feels it’s less filtered – and I loved hearing Jay Hulme’s “angry trans” performance poetry (his description!):

In the afternoon discussions, I ended up sat next to the author, actress and presenter Cerrie Burnell. In her presentation, she talked about how the books she read as a child didn’t reflect her experience. She recounted a story about playing at Peter Pan in the playground: there was already a Wendy and a Tinkerbell, so one of the other children suggested that she could be Captain Hook – Cerrie was adamant that she was more of a Tigerlily. Cerrie encouraged her fellow authors to represent difference in an incidental way: “write the thing that you know, or write the thing that you want to see.”

Robin Stevens, author of the Murder Most Unladylike mysteries, talked about the two types of offence her writing might potentially cause (the one she loses sleep over is making errors about misrepresenting cultures and experiences outside of her own, which is why in her recent books she has been working with sensitivity readers) and Di Airey of Diversity Dynamics reminded us that although publishing is in some ways ahead of other sectors, that we still have a way to go: “There’s not enough change: there are too many people who hide an aspect of their difference.”

Discussion inclusion, equality and diversity at A Place At The Table. Image: Inclusive Minds — Discussion inclusion, equality and diversity at A Place at the Table. Image: Inclusive Minds

I also heard about so many other initiatives and voices over the course of the day through the insights and case studies: from new publishers like Knights Of; titles including Penny Joelson’s I Have No Secrets and Otter-Barry Books and Pop-Up Projects’ Rising Stars anthology; initiatives like Penguin Random House’s WriteNow programme; prizes like the Amnesty CILIP Honour; accessible events as part of the Southbank Centre’s Imagine Festival. I’m taking lots of ideas and contacts away from the event to follow up on.

It was an inspiring and thought-provoking day, but ensuring the Vital North Partnership’s activities are inclusive is an ongoing process. We’ve done some interesting work, such as our Diverse Voices? symposium in November, and our recent Geographies of Gender and Generation collaboration, and in 2018, we’ll be focussing on BAME voices in children’s literature and activist networks through a new AHRC Creative Economy postdoctoral fellowship led by Dr Aishwarya Subramanian. But there’s still more to do. As Juno said so eloquently in her opening keynote: “The worst thing we can do is think we’ve done it, we’ve achieved diversity. We haven’t done diversity. You can’t tick diversity off the list.”

For more information about A Place at the Table 2018, visit: http://www.inclusiveminds.com/a-place-at-the-table-2018.php

Engagement through collaboration: NCCPE Engage Conference 2017

On 6th and 7th December 2017, I attended and presented at the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement’s Engage Conference in Bristol, which this year focused on ‘exploring collaboration’. In this blog post, I’ll be reflecting on what I’m taking away from the conference and sharing the poster I presented on the Vital North Partnership between Newcastle University and Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books.

Thinking about collaborating with a university, what animal is a university like? Is it an octopus? A soaring eagle? A bee? Or a huge, slow-moving whale? That was the opening question posed to delegates at the NCCPE Engage Conference 2017, and set the tone for two days of creative debate about the nature of university collaborations.

Paul Manners from NCCPE asks, 'What animal is a University like?'. Image: NCCPE — Paul Manners from NCCPE asks, ‘What animal is a University like?’. Image: NCCPE

In the first plenary, Ahmed Bawa of Universities South Africa focused on the ‘intensely local, and intensely global’ challenges which we face in society today. In a context of growing inequality, he encouraged universities to think hard about what they can do to further the social justice agenda. Newcastle’s Institute for Social Renewal, and Seven Stories’ work with children and young in some of the poorest areas of the North East, means this is a focus for the Vital North Partnership’s work.

Nancy Cantor’s plenary, on Rutgers University’s work as an anchor institution within Newark, New Jersey, considered social justice in the context of the “birth lottery”. Universities do brilliant work on widening participation, but generally focus on Year 6 and above. In my work with Seven Stories, I see first-hand the impact that engaging with the arts has from birth onwards; and I often wonder whether universities need to engage with children and young people at an earlier stage.

The Engage Conference 2017. Image: NCCPE

I heard more about the Museum and University Partnerships Initiative in the conference workshops, which I’ve recently been involved with alongside colleagues from Seven Stories, Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums and Northumbria University. It was really interesting to hear about some of the other MUPI projects from around the country and hear about successful engagement initiatives like TORCH’s Fright Friday event at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and the National Museum of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh’s Science Saturday initiative (definitely a pattern emerging there). I also explored how the University of Bristol was engaging with the Fun Palaces campaign, which brings art and science to the heart of the community.

In the mini-plenary on Strategic Approaches to Collaboration, I heard about current approaches to co-ordinating partnerships. Cardiff University presented their amazing work in the Grangetown area of the city, Community Gateway, which went on to win the Professor Sir David Watson Award for Community University Partnerships at the close of the conference. The Campus Engage project, a collaboration between the Irish universities, also presented on their charter for civic and community engagement. Campus Engage aimed to survey community / university partnerships to provide guidance on best practice and recommendations for the Irish Higher Education sector, and their Engaged Research report makes for interesting reading.

Campus Engage's Engaged Research framework. Image: Campus Engage — Campus Engage’s Engaged Research framework. Image: Campus Engage

In a complementary mini-plenary, I heard Sophie Duncan and Paul Manners from the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement talk about their attempt to create a typology of public engagement activity, and the motivations behind it. This seemed quite a successful and helpful framework when considering a single project, but I struggled to see how the Vital North Partnership’s work as a whole would map onto this.

Steven Hill, Head of Research Policy at Higher Education Funding Council for England talked about the Research Excellence Framework. I was particularly interested in his idea of collaboration as a skill set in itself, and the concept of distances of collaboration (both physical and figurative). Some of these comments about how research metrics are changing were echoed in the closing plenary, where Trevor McMillan, Vice Chancellor at Keele University, talked about the progress being made on the Knowledge Exchange Framework and the increasing governmental focus on the Industrial Strategy.

And of course, I also presented at the conference. I participated in the Co-production in Practice workshop, where I discussed building momentum within existing partnerships and came up with some top tips with the other delegates attending. I also took part in the poster party – here’s my poster, which captures just some of the highlights of the Vital North Partnership’s work in 2017:

The Vital North Partnership poster, which was presented at the NCCPE Engage 2017 poster party. Image: Newcastle University and Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children's Books — The Vital North Partnership poster, which was presented at the NCCPE Engage 2017 poster party. Image: Newcastle University and Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books

So what is collaborating with a university like? Well, I would say a hybrid between an octopus and a whale. Newcastle University is a huge organisation, but through the Vital North Partnership, Seven Stories is collaborating with lots of different Schools and departments. A whoctopus, if you will. What do you think?

Cover photo: NCCPE.

Newcastle University awards Michael Morpurgo honorary degree

Today, Newcastle University has made Michael Morpurgo an Honorary Doctor of Letters for his outstanding achievements as a children’s author and supporter of children’s rights, and recognising his strong connections to the North East.

Michael Morpurgo received the honour as part of the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics’ Congregation ceremonies, where our undergraduates and postgraduates also celebrated their degree success.

Michael is a true champion of children’s books. In an award-winning writing career that has spanned 40 years, he has published over 150 books for children, including War Horse, Private Peaceful and Kensuke’s Kingdom. He was the third Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005, a scheme he helped to establish. In 2006, his services to children’s literature were recognised when he was awarded an OBE. Michael and his wife, Clare Morpurgo, are also the founders of Farms for City Children, a charity which has now offered over 100,000 children the opportunity to experience a working farm in the countryside.

Michael Morpurgo with Seven Stories' A Lifetime in Stories exhibition. Image: Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children's Books, photography by Richard Kenworthy — Michael Morpurgo with Seven Stories’ A Lifetime in Stories exhibition. Image: Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books, photography by Richard Kenworthy

Alongside his writing and charity work, the honorary degree also celebrates Michael’s links to Newcastle. He is a Patron of Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books, and donated his entire archive to Seven Stories in 2015. This collection formed the basis for a major exhibition, Michael Morpurgo: A Lifetime in Stories, as well as a learning and engagement programme, and was supported by an InnovateUK Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Newcastle University, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The exhibition was on display between July 2016 to July 2017 at Seven Stories and is now preparing for a national tour, beginning with the V&A Museum of Childhood, where it will run from 22^nd July 2017 – 25^th February 2018.

Michael Morpurgo, with items from his archive, at Seven Stories. Image: Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children's Books, photography by Richard Kenworthy — Michael Morpurgo, with items from his archive, at Seven Stories. Image: Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books, photography by Richard Kenworthy

In her citation, acting University Librarian, Jill Taylor-Roe, said: “Michael Morpurgo, who we are honouring today, is one of the finest storytellers of our generation.”

Michael Morpurgo accepted the award by saying: “I am delighted to receive this degree from Newcastle University’s School of English. What a huge honour and from a city that is home to the wonderful Seven Stories, who look after my archive and for which my wife Clare and I are joint Patrons. It feels a bit like coming home.”

You can watch the whole degree ceremony online. Jill Taylor-Roe’s citation begins at 31:10 with Michael’s response running from 40:48 to 52:14.

Congratulations, Dr Morpurgo! And well done to all Newcastle University students graduating this summer.

Newcastle University and Seven Stories win prestigious THELMA award

I’m absolutely delighted to blog today about this year’s Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards (THELMAs), where Newcastle University and Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books won the Knowledge Exchange / Transfer Initiative of the Year prize for our Knowledge Transfer Partnership.

From October 2015 to December 2016, Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books and Newcastle University’s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics collaborated on an innovative Knowledge Transfer Partnership, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and InnovateUK. I blogged about the Seven Stories KTP, which is believed to be the first English Literature KTP in the UK, back in January, where you can read all about the project.

The Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Award trophies. Image: Times Higher Education

The KTP was a flagship project for the Vital North Partnership, so I suggested that this should be put forward for the THELMA Awards, and worked closely with colleagues in the University’s Knowledge Transfer Partnership Team and the Press Office to make the award submission.

We were lucky enough to be shortlisted amongst some amazing entries – and on 22nd June, it was announced that Newcastle University had won the Knowledge Transfer / Exchange Initiative of the Year! Dr Lucy Pearson, one of the KTP’s academic supervisors, and Kate Edwards, Seven Stories’ Chief Executive, collected our THELMA trophy at a glittering award ceremony in London’s Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

The Knowledge Exchange / Transfer Initiative of the Year. Image: Times Higher Education — Comedian Bill Bailey announces the Knowledge Exchange / Transfer Initiative of the Year. Image: Times Higher Education

The judging panel said that this collaboration was “an exemplar of how a school of English could engage in knowledge exchange. The initiative has transformed the way staff seek to apply their knowledge and unlocked a number of additional collaborations in the area of English literature.”

Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Professor Julie Sanders, said: “I am immensely proud that the work of the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics with Seven Stories has been recognised in this way. The KTP project is a model of what purposeful partnerships and collaborative working can achieve.”

Kate Edwards and Dr Lucy Pearson collected the award. Image: Times Higher Education

For Kate Edwards, this award “recognises that Seven Stories and Newcastle University are leading the way in bringing together research and engagement expertise to create rich, authentic and people-centred experiences that explore literature for children.

Dr Jessica Medhurst, our KTP Associate, took the application of research and interpretation of Michael Morpurgo’s archive to a different level, culminating in a landmark exhibition, that opened at Seven Stories in 2016. Our unique collections and curatorial experience, alongside the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics’ subject knowledge and research rigour are opening up new opportunities for experimentation, with the goal that research and our collections are shared with the public in ways that are relevant, accessible and engaging.”

Many congratulations to all of my colleagues – an amazing award for an amazing project!