Ann Alston

Dr. Ann Alston is a Senior Lecturer in English at the University of the West of England, within the Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries, and Education (ACE). She joined UWE in 2005 and teaches modules on children's literature, including 'Literature and the Constructions of Childhood', 'The Golden Age of Children's Literature', and 'Children's Fiction since 1900'.

Her academic qualifications include:

• BA
• MA
• PhD

Dr. Alston's research spans both nineteenth-century and contemporary children's fiction, with a focus on children's climate literature, critical literacy in the classroom, and diversity in children's literature. She has published on topics such as the representation of the family in English children's literature, Roald Dahl, women's writing for children in the nineteenth century, female genital mutilation in children's fiction, and climate literature. Her work emphasizes real-world impact through collaborations with educational and cultural organizations.

She actively collaborates with external partners including schools, local publishers, charities, festivals, and Literature Wales. Notably, she was commissioned by Literature Wales to produce 'Cymru Ni' (Our Wales), a resource for teachers listing books by Black and Asian authors with connections to Wales.

Dr. Alston supervises PhD students in children's and Young Adult literature, with past projects on Otherness and neurodiversity in contemporary children's and YA fiction. She provides CPD sessions and delivers talks for teachers, librarians, and students across Animation and Education disciplines.