Meet our Academic Keynote Speakers!

Dr. Melanie Ramdarshan Bold (she/they), Associate Professor, University of Glasgow

Melanie Ramdarshan Bold is an Associate Professor of Children’s and YA Literature Studies at The University of Glasgow (Scotland). Her research specialism is Inclusive Youth Literature and Book Culture (readers, writers, publishing and the cultural industries), with a particular focus on the representation of Black people and people of colour (BPoC), and the experiences of BPoC authors and readers. Melanie has published widely on the topic, alongside numerous publications about contemporary book culture more generally. Her first book Inclusive Young Adult Fiction was published in 2019. She is also the co-author of the popular trade book The Publishing Business (the third edition was published in 2024) and the author of the upcoming books YA Anthologies: Amplifying Voices, Building Community (2024); International Bestsellers and the Online Reconfiguring of National Identity (with Rachel Noorda and Millicent Weber, 2024); and Paddington, Critically (with Aishwarya Subramanian, 2025). Melanie’s interests in Youth Literature and Book Culture extends beyond academia. She has been a judge on various literary prizes and is on the Advisory Boards for the CLPE Reflecting Realities project, the Pop-up Pathways into Children’s Publishing project, and Literature Alliance Scotland, and works with numerous cultural organisations across the UK.

Dr. Sara Van den Bossche (she/her), Assistant Professor, Tilburg University 

Sara Van den Bossche is Assistant Professor of Youth Cultures and Lit eratures at Tilburg University (the Netherlands). In her doctoral dissertation (Ghent University, Belgium, 2015), she scrutinised the reception and canonisation of Astrid Lindgren’s works in Flanders and the Netherlands. Her main teaching and research topics are ethnic and cultural diversity, feminism, postcolonialism, cognitive criticism, canonisation, adaptation, picturebooks, and crossover literature. Since September 2019, she has been teaching in the Erasmus Mundus International Master “Children’s Literature, Media, and Culture” (CLMC). She co-authored [Children’s Literature through the Lens of Ethnic-Cultural Diversity] (Eburon/Stichting Lezen, 2020) and co-edited Never-ending Stories. Adaptation, Canonisation and Ideology in Children’s Literature (Academia Press, 2014). She is the author of the upcoming books Routledge Engagements with Children’s Literature (with Lydia Kokkola) and Pippi Longstocking, Critically.

Meet our Creative Keynote Speaker!

Giselle Vriesen (she/they), YA Author

Giselle Vriesen (she/they) is a 23 year old author living on Halalt First Nations land on Vancouver Island Canada. Her debut YA fantasy novel WHY WE PLAY WITH FIRE, inspired by her love for mythology and her diverse Jamaican, Chinese, and European-Canadian heritage, was released in February of 2024 through Row House Publishing, distributed by S&S. She is currently working on her second book scheduled to be published in 2026. Giselle is also the co-creator of the Anti-Racism Course for Educators, teaches a writing course that facilitates decolonized and embodied storytelling, and has been a professional tarot reader for the past eight years.