Join us for an afternoon of discussion led by FEAST guest editor Sarah Hardstaff in conversation with contributors Christopher Owen and Amy Webster. Drawing upon titles held in our Children's Books Collection, they will discuss their individual research and the many meanings, and delectable moments, in children’s literature.

FEAST is an online journal founded by Dr Laura Mansfield in 2013. Its most recent issue presented food as a powerful and versatile force in children’s culture. Tracing food from folk and fairytales through to contemporary picturebooks and the vlogs of urban wanderers, FEAST: Consuming Children examines the tension between children as consumers and children as consumables, recognising that the figure of the child can perform as both actor and goal in food-related transactions.

This event is suitable for adults.

About the Speakers
Sarah Hardstaff is a PhD Candidate in the Children’s Literature Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. Her MPhil thesis looked at hungry children in children's literature, focusing particularly on the poaching and scavenging of food.

Christopher Owen is a PhD Candidate in English Literature at Anglia Ruskin University. Christopher's research investigates the representation of intersectional systemic oppression in contemporary middle-grade fantastika literature.

Amy Webster is a PhD Candidate in the Children’s Literature Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. Her contribution to FEAST formed part of her Master's thesis that explored how Englishness is represented in children's literature through a study of taking tea, London landmarks and wet weather.