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Senior Lecturer (Children's Literature)

Telephone : +44 (0)20 8392 3815
Email : L.Sainsbury@roehampton.ac.uk
Department : English and Creative Writing
Office location : Fincham 102

Send a message to Dr Lisa Sainsbury

About

The National Centre for Research in Children's Literature 

After completing degrees at Kingston University and the University of Sussex, I first taught at Roehampton in 1995. I have been a member of the National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature (NCRCL) since its launch in 1996. The culture of rigorous and enthusiastic research into children’s literature impressed me from the outset and I remain proud to work with such a wonderful team of scholars. The NCRCL continues to be a thriving hub of activity, running a regular programme of cluster talks and conferences. Since the NCRCL is part of a growing and dynamic field of research and creativity, I’ve been privileged to work with scholars and writers from all over the world over the years, including (to name just a few): Jacqueline Wilson, Aidan Chambers, Bart Moeyaert, Peter Hunt, John Stephens, Lawrence R. Sipe, Perry Nodelman, Jan Mark, Philippa Pearce, Maria Nikolajeva, Celia Rees, Philip Pullman, Michael Rosen, Jan Pienkowski, Richard Adams, Emer O’Sullivan, Jill Paton Walsh and Raymond Briggs.

Research Interests

In the early stages of my career, my research focussed on postmodernity in children’s literature and I also did quite a bit of work on electronic and alternative narratives for young people. I am also passionate about children’s poetry, historical fiction and visual texts in general (especially graphic novels and book illustration). My research tends to focus on 20th Century Children’s Literature, but I enjoy going back to earlier periods when the opportunity arises; my interest in illustration takes me back to early chapbooks, for example. 

My current area of research is philosophy and children’s literature. I’m grappling with Heidegger and Kierkegaard at the moment and I have a book on ethics and contemporary children’s literature due out in 2013.

Research Project Undertaken

PhD Students

- Liz Thiel: The Fantasy of Family: Nineteenth-Century Children's Literature and the Myth of the Domestic Ideal. Awarded 2006. 


- Noga Applebaum: Control Shift: Interfaces of Technology and Children’s Literature Through the Dimension of Science Fiction Written for Children. Awarded 2008. 

- Julie Cross: The ‘Highs’ and ‘Lows’ of Humour: Funny Junior Fiction from 1960 Onwards. Awarded 2009. 

- Simon Machin: Ripping Yarns: The Breaking of Masculine Codes in ‘Boy’s Own’ Adventure Stories, 1855-1940. 2009-

Teaching Interests

I am programme convener of the on-site MA in Children's Literature and I teach 
children's literature at both undergraduate and MA level. On the MA in Children's Literature I currently teach: Writing for a Child Audience; British Children's Literature 1900-1960; Time and History; Verse and Voice. 

I am also interested in creative writing for children and have developed modules in writing for children across several programmes in the Department of English and Creative Writing. I have also supervised a number of students working on creative dissertations as part of their MA in Children’s Literature (and on the MA in Creative and Professional Writing). 

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to study with me at Roehampton.

Publications

‘A Boy’s Duty: Ethics and Masculinity in B.B.’s Brendon Chase and Nina Bawden’s The Real Plato Jones’, in eds Paola Bottala and Monica Santini (2009) What are Little Boys and Girls made Of? , Unipress: Padua, pp.67-85.
‘Contemporary Children’s Books’ in Duncan McCorquodale et al. eds. (2009), Illustrated Children’s Books , London: Black Dog Publishing, pp.88-128.
'Rousseau's Raft: Interaction and Transformation in Electronic Books for Children’ in Fiona Collins and Jeremy Ridgman, eds., Children’s Literature in Performance and the Media (Peter Lang, 2006).
‘Childhood, Youth Culture and the Uncanny: Uncanny Nights in Contemporary Adolescent Fiction’; ‘Picturebook Case Study: Politics and Philosophy in the Work of Raymond Briggs’; ‘Heritage and Chronotopes: Time and Memory in Contemporary Children's Literature’ all in Modern Children's Literature: An Introduction, ed. Kimberley Reynolds, Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke, 2005.
'Game On: Adolescent Texts to Read and Play' in eds. Mallan, K. and Pearce,S. Youth Cultures: Texts, Images, and Identities,Westport, Conneticut: Praeger, 2003.
'Tales from the Mouse House: Playing with Reading on CD-ROM' in Bearne, E. and Watson, V., eds. (2000) Where Texts and Children Meet, London: Routledge, pp.82-97
'Information Playgrounds: Children's Reference and Multimedia', in Hancock, S., ed. (1998) A Guide to Children's Reference Books and Multimedia Material, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, pp.145-187
'Exploration of textual space in the (dis)location of adolescence', Journal of the Institute of Romance Studies, Vol. 7, 1999, pp.313-324
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