Scholarship

My scholarship brings together youth literature, creative practice, and care in education. Through writing and research, I explore how stories and creative practices shape learning, belonging, and imagination for young people and for people working in higher education.

Selected Publications

Circle Up, Sis, Any Way That You Can: The Power of Affinity Groups and Creative Practice
Forthcoming. In Community Education: BIPOC Connection and Practices in Academic Libraries. ACRL Publications.
A chapter exploring affinity groups and creative practice as sites of care, connection, and sustainability in academic life.

Dispatches from Home: Student Authored Texts
The ALAN Review, 2024. Volume 51 issue 3
A discussion of student-authored writing as a site of reflection, place, and belonging within youth literature contexts.

Complex Texts: Critically Reading Race and Representation in Picture Books
In Teaching Critical Reading Skills: Strategies for Academic Librarians, Volume Two. ACRL Press, 2023.
A chapter focused on critical approaches to reading race and representation in picture books, with attention to classroom and instructional practice.

Related work: Critically Reading Race examples
A curated set of picture book examples that support the chapter’s approach to critically reading race and representation.

Creative Practice in Higher Education: Decentering Academic Experiences
Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 2021. Volume 62 issue 4
Co-authored. A peer-reviewed article examining creative practice as a way of rethinking academic work, care, and scholarly identity.

Leading with Care: Sustaining Colleagues and Students in Times of Crisis
Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 2021.
Co-authored. A peer-reviewed article addressing care-centered leadership and relational approaches within educational and academic communities.

De)constructing Imagination: Racial Bias and Counter-Storytelling in Young Adult Speculative Fiction
Study and Scrutiny: Research on Young Adult Literature, 2020. Volume 4 issue 1
A peer-reviewed article examining racial bias and counter-storytelling in young adult speculative fiction, with attention to how imagination is shaped by race and power.

Related work: Speculative Worlds of Color
A teaching resource that forms part of a critical evaluation framework supporting students in analyzing racial diversity and representation in speculative fiction.

Dreaming in Color: Identifying Race and Ethnicity in YA Speculative Fiction Reviews
Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, 2017. Volume 8
A peer-reviewed study examining how race and ethnicity are represented and discussed in reviews of young adult speculative fiction.

Related work: Diversity Timeline
A visual timeline highlighting key moments and efforts to promote diversity in youth literature from 1910 to 2017.

Presentation Topics

I regularly speak and facilitate conversations around the following topics:

  • Inclusive youth literature in K–12 contexts, including critical approaches to evaluating picture books and young adult literature

  • Speculative fiction, imagination, and counter-storytelling in young adult literature

  • Youth literature evaluation, including picture book and award-focused evaluation workshops

  • Creative and reflective practices in higher education, including visual journaling and artmaking as forms of inquiry and care

  • Care-centered leadership and peer mentoring in academic settings

    For a full list of publications, see my CV.