The South Asian Illustration and Literature Festival is returning for its second year and will take place at Tate Britain on 27 September, 2025.  We were delighted to catch up with its pioneering co-founders Sinead Gosai, Chitra Soundar and Sanchita Basu De Sarkar to discuss the event.  Don’t miss your opportunity to book tickets and to be part of this hugely exciting and important festival.

Congratulations on the second year of SAILfest, when and where will this year's festival be held and who's able to attend this and how please? 

SINEAD: For our second year, we’re proud to be working with Tate Publishing, where we’ll host SAIL Fest in the Clore Auditorium at Tate Britain on Saturday 27th September. Everyone is welcome, regardless of your heritage - as long as you have an interest in children’s publishing. We have a number of ticket options to suit all budgets and we’d love as many authors, illustrators, librarians, booksellers, editors, agents etc to come along and join the conversation on the day - either in person or virtually. 

Can you tell us a bit about the background to SAILfest?

SINEAD: Sanchita Basu De Sarkar came up with the idea and initially approached Chitra and me to get involved. It’s something we’d all been separately having conversations about and we just decided to get together and get stuck in. It was honestly quite crazy looking back at how quickly we managed to pull it all together. We’re all really passionate about uplifting and championing our community and set out to create a safe space to do that in. 

SAILfest have been doing some fantastic work since last year's inaugural festival, what have been some of the highlights for you and why?

SINEAD: The buzz and excitement from the first festival has been tough to beat, but we’ve continued to run small scale events throughout the year - we hosted a networking event towards the end of last year, as that was something a lot of attendees were keen on continuing to make connections in person and online and earlier this year we ran our first online book launch and virtual networking event. I think the highlight truly was seeing the impact and how much having that space to get together and have honest conversations and celebrate our successes and joys together really meant. 

What are some of the highlights on this year's programme and what can attendees expect if attending?

SINEAD: We have a brilliant line up this year, exploring the barriers and possibilities in publishing. We have a debut panel, a panel exploring how to sustain a career in the industry and a panel talking about how to publicise and amplify our voices. We also have some interactive creative sessions, a book launch and a networking evening. So it’s a pretty jammed packed day. Book your SAILFest tickets here - https://www.sailfest.org.uk/sailfest2025 

This year, we’re also so excited to be partnering with The Barbican to host a special SAIL Fest family film club event for the public, so bring your little readers along. You can register and book your tickets here.
 

This year's festival is in collaboration with Tate publishing, how did that partnership come about and what value does it add?

CHITRA: Tate’s senior commissioning Editor Cherise Lopes-Baker had been on a panel at our first festival and she was instrumental in championing the festival with her publishing team and brought us together and we’re delighted to be able to collaborate on this year’s festival. The space allows us to open our doors to even more delegates this year. It’s heartening to work with a publisher who is keen to support our mission to uplift those of South Asian heritage working across the kid lit space. 

With the decline in publications reported through Reflecting Realities and the closing of Tiny Owl publishers it feels like we're entering a potentially more challenging time for diverse and inclusive publishing.  How important is it that librarians are part of the conversations and what role are they able to play in the industry?

SANCHITA: It is increasingly concerning and something we’re saddened to see. Librarians can be some of the most powerful advocates for inclusive publishing, not only as gatekeepers of what gets into readers' hands, but also as trusted voices in shaping demand and influencing systemic change. This can be such a huge asset to publishers. When librarians are intentionally stocking and promoting our books, it lets publishers know there's an audience for our stories. 

CHITRA: Libraries are the beating heart of any community and having your local library advocate for you as an author can be so powerful because they open the author and the book to a wider audience - not just teachers and students but for the wider community. Librarians keep a diverse range of books visible and celebrated with communities on the ground. And through PLR, borrowing trends and library highlights, they are able to advocate for inclusive books with data and evidence. 

ALL: Don’t forget! Book your tickets to SAIL Fest 2025 here. 

A big thank you to Sinead Gosai, Chitra Soundar and Sanchita Basu De Sarkar

We are delighted to welcome Nicola Garrard, author of the unmissable On the Edge, to the blog for a powerful and urgent piece discussing the experiences of rural working class children in school, and how librarians are creating an inclusive space that transforms life opportunities.

‘Teachers do not know what to do with a boy like Rhys’ On the Edge

There’s no doubt that working-class children are disadvantaged and stigmatised. In my new novel, On the Edge, I’ve tried to show what that feels like. Rhys, the hero, is excluded from school, drops out of college and can only find low-paid seasonal work. With traditional career paths eroded and second homes driving up rents, Rhys’s family faces homelessness – and he becomes dangerously radicalised.

Working-class boys like Rhys are more likely to be excluded and sanctioned, achieve lower grades and are less likely to access higher education. Amid debates on masculinity, we must acknowledge that disaffection – leading to nearly one million NEETs nationally and growing antisocial behaviour, far-right extremism and flashpoints of rioting – is seeded by the very education system that congratulates itself as the solution.

‘At school, boys like Rhys are always either too big or too small; too big when they move and too small when they open their mouths.’ On the Edge

For the 31% of UK children living in poverty, school punishments are a fact of life, in particular for uniform code breaches, like wearing trainers when school shoes no longer fit. A Year 8 I taught on an exclusion project chose detentions over the shame of wearing uniform he’d outgrown. When the education charity I work for replaced his trousers, he was back in the classroom.

Middle-class advantage is baked into the school system – in values, rewards, punishments and the curriculum. Seeking to raise aspiration, degree-educated teachers present manual and semi-skilled work as the measure of failure. I have heard colleagues utter variations of ‘You don’t want to be a cleaner or work in Tesco’s for the rest of your life’ to children whose parents do exactly that.

“The education system is designed to reward those who are already privileged, while punishing those who have the least.” David Gillborn

Children from wealthier families avoid clashing with school rules simply by being affluent; their parents wash and dry PE kit the same day, replace the third lost scientific calculator that year with a

next-day delivery, and top up lunch accounts at the ping of a text. Compare school reward data to weekend library use and you’ll see how achievement and praise correlates to having access to books,

computers, printers and paper.

Over 150,000 children in the UK are homeless. They lack a place to study, can’t own or keep books, have no quiet space; there is no incentive to join the local library or youth clubs. As a teacher, I gave

after-school detentions to a Year 7 boy for lateness – only to discover that he and his mum were living in emergency hostels and women’s shelters. At 11, he deserved an award for making it to school at all.

Participation in wider school life is also closed to rural working class young people. Unlike Scotland, there’s no free public transport for under-22s in England and Wales, so sports fixtures, after-school

clubs and staying to do homework in libraries are often impossible. Many don’t consider sixth form because transport costs over £600 a year, while affluent peers are bought cars that open doors to part-

time work – and the volunteering opportunities needed for university applications.

‘Beware of spoiling young men’s futures; ‘they will become a flapping, snapping moray on the deck, electrics firing long after they’ve been clubbed on the head.’ On the Edge

On the Edge has a white hot seam of anger running through it. It explores the world of work, housing, relationships, education, transport and tourism through the eyes of rural working class boys who are much misunderstood, often demonised and undervalued. It shows the traps that caught young people I grew up with – depression, self-medicating with drugs, risky and self-harming behaviours – and warns of tipping points into civil disobedience (see Dame De Souza’s report) when basic needs for housing, work and a sense of agency are ignored.

Fortunately, school libraries offer a vital counterbalance to increasingly ubiquitous zero-tolerance academy-chain corporate schooling. Over the course of dozens of state school author visits, I’ve met many librarians who reflect deeply on their collections, analyse the demographics of their library users and volunteers, and curate books by working-class authors. They go out of their way to create

welcoming and inclusive spaces, perhaps in part inspired by CLPE’s Reflecting Realities reports

which have given educators a framework for thinking about difference. A similar report on representations of class in YA and Children’s literature would be very welcome.

Here’s some ways school libraries are welcoming working-class and lower-income children:

1. Quirky clubs and events:

○ “Speed Dating” with books!

○ “Library Lock-in” with pizza and games for PP students

○ “Book Food” events (menus/cooking inspired by stories)

○ “Escape Room” book hunts with riddles and challenges.

○ Creative Writing/Fan Fiction clubs: NLT recently found that working class children

are more engaged in creative writing than their affluent peers.

○ Open Mic Club for budding poets and rappers, with poetry collections for them to

browse.

○ “Charge Up with a Book” Club: swap 10 minutes of device charging for 10 minutes of reading (with quick, readable titles such as Barrington Stoke and Oxford Rollercoasters)

○ “Artists in the Library” Club, make book-inspired art using paint, air-drying clay, lego, collage

○ UNO/Jigsaw Club: to get them through the door!

2. Stock:

○ Promote working class authors: Alex Wheatle, Anthony McGowan, Brian Conaghan, Natasha Carthew, Margaret McDonald, Malorie Blackman.

○ Stock comics, magazines, audio books, song lyrics, blogs, wordless books, verse novels and graphic novels.

○ Encourage ‘reading young’ by stocking picture books in secondary libraries (ostensibly to read to young siblings) to consolidate literacy without pressure.

○ Challenge students to shape the collection by finding a title to propose for their school or public library.

○ Issue post-it notes to readers to leave a message/score to the next reader.

○ Run student-led diversity and inclusion audits to check their library reflects the community

○ Partner with public libraries for family sign-up events.

○ Run a public library trip for a tour – invite parents/carers.

○ Promote the local library in school newsletters/website.

These initiatives create a real sense of belonging in schools where working-class culture and achievement is undervalued or ignored. No wonder Dav, in On the Edge, heads to his school library when he needs some answers. He knows the librarian will help him.

References:

1. Working-class pupils let down by decades of neglect:

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/203/education-

committee/news/156024/forgotten-white-workingclass-pupils-let-down-by-decades-of-

neglect-mps-

say/#:~:text=GCSE%20performance%3A%20In%202019%20just,not%20achieve%20two%2

0strong%20passes.

2. School exclusions and masculine, working-class identities: Jean Kane,

www.docs.hss.ed.ac.uk/education/creid/NewsEvents/03v_BERASeminar_Paper_jk.pdf

3. Professor S Agarwal et al, Disadvantage in English seaside resorts: A typology of deprived

neighbourhoods, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261517718301237

4. https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/children-and-young-peoples-

writing-in-2025/

5. Children’s involvement in the 2024 riots, Dame R de Souza,

www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/childrens-involvement-in-the-2024-riots/

A big thank you to Nicola Garrard for the blog and to Old Barn Books for the opportunity.

We are delighted to welcome multi award-winning illustrator and author David Roberts to the blog to answer questions on his exciting and highly informative new book, We are your Children: A History of LGBTQ+ Activism.  Questions have been posed by students at Ullswater Community College.

Were recent international and national political attacks on the queer community a motivation to write this book or is it just a coincidence that it is publishing at a time where it is more relevant that ever?

No, the timing of the book is coincidental with current events.

The book was planned back in 2018, with my motivation being to make a book that highlighted the stories of previous generations of LGBTQ+ people who fought for their own (and subsequently our) rights to live freely as queer people. I wanted to show that by their actions, and often simply by being visible in their communities, they gradually created a culture of greater acceptance and respect towards queer people where previously there had been suspicion, fear and prejudice.

Do you have a favourite LGBTQ+ power moment?

Gosh, that would be so hard to choose! I am particularly interested in the Radical Effeminists of the 1970s. As a gay boy who was always questioning `what I saw as the ridiculous restrictions around gender expression and expectations, I have been fascinated by their ideas. They were focused on smashing these gender stereotypes and working towards complete liberation from them, for everyone.

They wanted to establish a completely different way of being a man and expressing masculinity. Radical ideas back then – and still now it would seem! 

Whilst researching the book, what was the most inspiring story or advice you came across that you wanted to share with queer readers and their allies?

I don’t think I could single out one story in particular, but collectively I found the resilience of people and their determination to not be brushed aside, overlooked or disregarded very powerful. They knew they were right and they cared enough to show up and speak out to challenge discrimination. They may not have seen themselves as revolutionary, and they must have felt exhausted and perhaps even hopeless at times, but they kept going – and their actions did change attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people in a positive way. That’s very inspiring.

Do your experiences as a fashion designer influence your work? Is it clothes you still enjoy illustrating most?

YES! Thank you so much for that question , I love it! 

My love of clothing and style and how we dress ourselves has been a major influence on my work as an illustrator. With every new character I encounter I’m always asking myself – who are they? What’s their style? How will their style inform their personality? I see individual style as a form of storytelling in itself; perhaps we are expressing ourselves in ways we can’t with words. Or perhaps we are hiding ourselves and our true identity. So I would say it’s not only clothes I love to draw, but the personality that is wearing them.

What are the best things about being an author and illustrator?

As an illustrator of other people’s stories, it’s such a privilege and an adventure stepping into someone else’s imagination. Often when I read a text for the first time it fills my mind with images and possibilities! I may be taken to places in my own imagination that I would never have thought possible. It may challenge me to think about what story is being told – both through the images and the words, and is it the same story? What else can the image bring to the reader that’s not being said in the text? Oh and being able to listen to the radio while working is fabulous too. I’ve always loved radio ever since I was little. The working life of an illustrator is rather solitary so the radio is a bit like a work colleague. 

Are there any things about being an author and illustrator that you don’t like?

Good question! I think it’s hard sometimes to accept your limitations and embrace the challenges of working within them to create the best work you can.

I think also as I get older, focus (or should I say a lack of focus) is becoming a real problem! Oh, and some days I just don’t want to draw! 

Do you have any tips for aspiring authors and illustrators?

Composition is everything! 

Do you prefer writing or illustrating?

I think illustrating feels more natural to me. I like the language of illustration and the way a story can be told just with pictures. I think I might have developed a stronger sense of visual language because I have dyslexia, which when I was a child was not picked up on, so I was left to struggle with reading and writing and eventually drifted away from that form of communication sadly.

It’s been a bit of a revelation for me working on information books, as I have found the process of writing really satisfying, so perhaps I will try more.

What is your working style? Do you plan everything in lots of detail or go with the flow? Where do you prefer to work?

That’s a good question! I’m a planner; I plan every picture in great detail. I’m obsessed with composition so I’m always looking for an interesting way for the image to sit on the page. What gets seen and what is suggested? I love planning how the viewer’s eye will travel through the image and how that might help to enhance the storytelling, atmosphere and emotional impact of an image. I work from a studio space at home but will often travel with work, so really I can work anywhere as long as I have my easel, light box, daylight lamp, radio and magnifier (my eyesight is not what it used to be!).

I also am never without a note book.

We liked that the stories in the book are told in the first person, it really feels like those individuals are speaking directly to us. How did you research and collect their stories?

Thank you, that’s a lovely compliment. Where I could, I interviewed people.

It would have been wonderful to speak directly with all the people I was writing about, but unfortunately that wasn’t always possible. So for many of the stories I made sure I gathered as much information as possible.

Watching documentaries or listening to podcasts or radio interviews to hear the person speak about their experiences was a huge help in finding a way of telling their story. Finding news footage on YouTube was also amazing in helping me see events unfold and get a sense of the atmosphere around them. Newspaper stories and interviews were also really helpful, as they can capture the tone of how society was reacting and representing these events.

It became sort of journalistic as I wanted to re-tell stories without bringing too much of my own opinions or voice to the text. 

Given recent hostilities to the queer community and the increase in book bannings, we think that you publishing this book right now is a huge act of rebellion.  Is it intimidating and scary to put your head above the parapet though?

Yes, because many queer people of my generation are unable to fully shake off the shame about ourselves that was projected onto us by the homophobia we grew up dealing with. Even if we felt perfectly comfortable with our sexuality, society was telling us it was wrong, unnatural and shameful. It’s hard not to absorb some of that and carry it with you through life. It’s why we often say as gay people we are constantly coming out. (Not that I was ever in!).

There were no books like this one in my school or local library that I could access growing up, which only contributed to feelings of confusion and isolation as a young gay teen. We have come so far in terms of publishing with LGBTQ+ themes and characters in an encouraging variety of kids’ books from baby board books to young adult fiction.

So I’m particularly saddened and angry when I hear that these books are being removed from school or local libraries, putting young people in the same situation I was in at age 15, 40 years ago. 

I think because older queer people have experienced rampant homophobia and seen how far we have come over time, when we see these hostilities resurface – particularly now for trans people – it makes us even more determined not to go backwards. I think it’s important that we all know the stories of the generations who came before us and took action against the prejudice and discrimination they faced, to recognise when it is happening again. As the saying goes, ‘knowledge is power’.

We were excited by the big bibliography at the end of the book, what are the 3 books or websites you suggest we look at first to continue our queer education?

Making Gay History is a podcast where we can listen to interviews with many of the key figures in our queer history and culture. Many of the people interviewed are no longer with us so it’s an extremely important and valuable resource. 

No Bath But Plenty of Bubbles: An Oral History of the Gay Liberation Front 1970–73  by Lisa Power published by Cassell (but sadly now out of print). You can find used copies but they are very expensive. It’s a fascinating account of the British Gay Liberation Front, using interviews with its members to capture an insight into what life was like for queer people in the early 70s. The blurb on the back of the book states “The Gay Liberation Front dragged homosexuality out of the closet, onto the streets and into the public eye!” 

May I suggest a documentary? The Rebel Dykes directed by Harri Shanahan and Sîan Williams. This film is described as “a brilliant and refreshing story of post-punk Dyke culture told by those who lived it”. It is available on YouTube, and it’s such an important and valuable resource, especially because so much of lesbian culture was not seen. Even within the queer community, lesbian voices were not always heard. 

We Are Your Children is written and produced in the same style as Suffragettes: Battle for Equality – are there any other communities you would like to create a book about?

Ooh that’s a very good question! There is actually one that I would love to research and make a book about, and that’s the conscientious objectors from World War One. Or perhaps conscientious objectors of any war. I know only a tiny little bit about them, because in my family it’s believed that my great grandfather was one. I believe there were about 16,000 in the First World War who objected to being drafted, or refused to fight in armed combat for loads of different reasons. 

They were seen as social pariahs, ostracised and denigrated by society, portrayed as ‘cowards’ and ‘shirkers’. The rigid expectations of masculinity often highlight how men are taught to think but not feel, and in times of war, to step up and follow orders. So when faced with all that, their strength in staying true to their beliefs really inspires and intrigues me. I would love to find out more about them.

A big thank you to David Roberts for the interview, to students at Ullswater College for the brilliant questions and to Macmillan Children's Books for the opportunity.

In 2018 the Youth Libraries Group established its YLG Award, to recognise outstanding commitment and innovation for children and young people’s services carried out with public libraries. 

Past winners include Agnes Guyon, Olivia Barnden, Zoey Dixon, Jenny Hawke, Yvonne Manning and Carol Hayes.  After long deliberations, we are delighted to announce the shortlist for the YLG Awards 2025.

Tiffany Haigh – Kirklees Libraries.  Tiffany is a librarian for Kirklees Council.  She has been a judge for the Carnegie Medal for writing and illustration, has organised an innovative series of storywalks and is the Chair of YLG Yorkshire and Humber as well as being a part of National Committee.

Sue Prior – Bexley Libraries.  Sue is a Reader Development librarian based in Bexley.  Sue has been a dedicated and active member of the Youth Libraries Group in London and has sat upon the National Committee. 

Sarah Smith – Brent Libraries.  Sarah is a libraries development manager for Brent and works tirelessly to create opportunities for children and young people in her role.  She has sat on the Diverse Voices selection panel, is part of the Empathy Reads panel and has organised an incredible array of events and training through her career.

Congratulations to each of our three shortlistees.  The winner will be announced at YLG Conference, Journeys into Reading, in September.  Don’t miss your opportunity to be there!  Good luck to Tiffany, Sue and Sarah.

Photos show Tiffany Haigh, Sue Prior and Sarah Smith

We are delighted to welcome award-winning  Aoife Dooley to the blog to talk about graphic novels, the formative role they are able to play in children’s reading, in developing empathy and understanding, representation and to introduce her fantastically fun new series Squid Squad.

I’m Aoife Dooley and I’m an illustrator and Writer from Dublin Ireland. My main focus is creating graphic novels and stories for kids age 5-14 and doing workshops on how to create your own stories.

Over the past couple of years Graphic Novels have come a long way and have begun to boom in popularity particularly in the UK and Ireland. Kids and teens are being introduced to a new way of storytelling and reading. For some, it’s the first book they’ve ever read and maybe the one that will give them the confidence to continue to read more.

Graphic novels are magic!

When I was younger, I felt like reading wasn’t for me. I tried over and over again to read novels and keep up with my class but the words just went in the front of my brain and back out the other side. I found it hard to follow a story without pictures. All the words squeezed together on a page. It doesn’t really look appealing to me, especially when I can read a book with pictures. With pictures my brain can follow a story easier and I’m more likely to remember it, because I learn visually. This is something I only realised much later in life as I discovered I am autistic. But back then reading was hard and learning was hard too.

This was in the 90’s and 00’s and graphic novels at the time weren’t considered books. I had never seen a comic before until one day I decided to read the local newspaper in my grandparents’ house. Something on the front cover caught my attention and I decided to look through. I came across a section with drawings and stories. These stories where in little boxes and short. There were three different stories and the excitement I felt when I realised that there was a new one every day. My grandad would be looking for the newspaper to read the sports section and I would be hiding in the bathroom reading the comics. Later I was introduced to Calvin and Hobbes by my aunty. I was 11 and we were shopping in London and she showed me this book. It was like the comics from the newspaper but in a giant book (almost bigger than me at the time). At this point I don’t think I had read a book and being able to read this gave me the confidence to read more books like Jaqueline Wilson for example.

How graphic novels can make a difference

I noticed over the years how books are changing and there’s more and more representation, I also noticed that more teachers and librarians are getting behind graphic novels and I think this is amazing and here is why- when I was younger, I never found any characters like me, someone I could relate to, someone who felt familiar.

This would have been a massive help when I was a kid to feel seen, because I didn’t for a long time like many other kids and I felt lost. Now there are an array of different graphic novels around many topics. I have seen the power of this personally from doing workshops with kids and how being able to relate to someone fictional or not can make you feel seen and not alone, how it can build community and friendships. I think this is so important now more than ever with social media. It’s already hard growing up. Introducing kids to books and things or people you think they will relate to can open up a whole world that’s yet to be discovered.

Graphic novels also give the opportunity for kids who learn visually to follow with everyone else and not get lost easily and feel like reading is not for them. Reading graphic novels as part of a group setting can open up discussions and bring up topics that are important to learn while growing up Including how to treat people and learning about people, differences and breaking down stereotypes.

Squid Squad

Creating Squid Squad was super fun and a completely different experience. Drawing people (oh I don’t think I’ll ever be able to draw the perfect hand, after 10 years that is still the hardest thing) but drawing sea creatures? It gave me some more freedom for movement and whacky posture and I enjoyed this a lot. This is also true for creating a fictional world and this was something new to me as a lot of the things I’ve done in the past have been based or loosely based on real places.

You can see this in my previous book Frankie’s World and if you’re from Dublin or know Dublin you will spot a few things. The book is set in the deep see in a town called ‘nowhere’ - which is literally in the middle of nowhere. Ollie and Zing are the main characters and live in a trailer together just outside the town with their pet sea anemone Barney. Ollie is a vampire Squid and Zing is a type of Sea slug (aka sea bunny) because he has little bunny ears. These are based on some deep sea creatures and I’ve included more throughout the book including an angler fish.

I also created some fun ‘undiscovered’ characters like Snakey Unicorn Thing who has yet to be spotted by humans. The book is split into 4 short stories or episodes following the characters from the town, the mysteries they solve and the bonds that they make. Friendship is a big theme in the book and being true to yourself (like Zing, Zing is my spirit animal, we all need to be more like Zing).

A huge thank you to Aoife for the blog and to Scholastic for the opportunity.