We had two sessions with Hanna Alkaf.
In the first one, where she talked about herself and her life/career, she highlighted the issue of representation in literature. When she asked us if we saw ourselves in our favourite books, many of us didn’t raise our hands. I didn’t raise my hand. I found that interesting because I initially thought that a story you enjoy or relate to the most would have some resonance with your life. It made sense in my mind, but even I didn’t raise my hand. As she revealed, in a literary world with around 50% of white characters and 27% of animal characters, it can be hard to see/find yourself in YA and Middle-grade novels. The general situation wasn’t necessarily a surprise to me, but the specific numbers were a bit shocking.
I admire how she has taken it into her own hands to make sure that her kids can see themselves in books as they get older. The discussion around representation in all forms of media is quite relevant at the moment, especially with a growing awareness around issues in mainstream media such as non-diverse film castings.
The second session was focused on writing techniques and journalism. It was helpful, especially with the reference/analogy of ‘making monsters’ in connection to the story of Frankenstein. She went through all of the essential elements of writing and how they contribute to the story/article. The examples she shared with us highlighted the impact of certain techniques well, and overall, the session was informative and useful.
