Diverse Libraries webinar 2025-2026: Session 1

Representations of Jewishness within children’s literature

Join our expert panel for the first Diverse Libraries webinar of the academic year as we look at and discuss representations of Jewishness within modern children’s literature. We will be joined by author Ziggy Hanaor, children’s literature expert Madelyn Travis and author and literacy education consultant Jacqueline Harris.

Who should attend?

Our Diverse Libraries webinar series is open to all library staff and teachers based in primary or secondary schools, public or community libraries across the UK.

Why attend?

Through the webinar series we aim to support librarians and teachers to:

• create inclusive reading experiences for all children and young people
• hear directly from authors and experts in relevant fields
• deepen their own understanding around diversifying reading materials and widening access in reading spaces.

How to book

Sign up for your free place on the form at the end of this page.

Ziggy Hanaor is the director of Cicada Books, a boutique children’s publishing company specialising in high-end picturebooks, non-fiction and graphic novels. She originally trained as a script editor in television before moving into publishing. Over the years Ziggy has written nine books including Fly Flies, Alex and Alex and The Pocket Chaotic, which have been translated into over 20 languages and have received various accolades in The New York Times, The Guardian and other publications. Her ongoing interest in the world of film and TV led her towards graphic novels, where she could further explore her love of dialogue and complex visual storytelling. Her first graphic novel, Alte Zachen, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, 2023 and won the V&A Prize for Illustration. Her second graphic novel, The Egg Incident was reviewed in the New York Times and was shortlisted for the Bologna Ragazzi award.

Former Deputy Head of a Primary school. Trainer for Nursery to KS3 on a wide range of topics but particularly reading and reading for pleasure. Jacqueline has a range of expertise, roles, and publications, including: phonics consultant, author of Write Your Own book (Sept 2015 DK) and Spell Check (2016 DK), author of Monster Phonics early phonics reading books (2019), editor and consultant for Harper Collins. She rewrote Letters and Sounds (2020) and is author of The House that Sailed Away with illustrations by Alan Brown (April 2025), and has KS3 phonics books in production but not yet published.

Madelyn Travis has a PhD in children’s literature from Newcastle University. She is the author of Jews and Jewishness in British Children’s Literature (Routledge) and has published on various aspects of children’s literature in academic journals as well as in The Horn Book magazine and Books for Keeps. Madelyn was features editor of the BookTrust website, for which she interviewed dozens of eminent children’s authors and illustrators, and was a contributor to The Ultimate Book Guide (books for 8-12s). Currently, she chairs the UK book selection committee for the international Jewish picture book programme PJ Library and is on the book selection committee for the North American-based middle grade Jewish book programme PJ Our Way.

Miriam Halahmy is an Anglo Jewish author who has published ten novels for young people. She is an award winning author, twice nominated for the Carnegie medal, published in America and several other territories. Miriam writes historical and contemporary realistic fiction and in recent years has featured Jewish children more and more in her novels. Her next novel, Pomegranates For Peace (Zuntold Books, November 2025), is set in a London High school a few weeks after 7 October 2023, with Jewish and non-Jewish characters. The book asks, in these hard times, what can you do for peace?

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