Hello everyone!
My name is Sofia St. John and I am currently in my first year
of my M.A. degree in English with a specialization in Children’s Literature. I
am interested in diving deeper into queer studies, sexuality studies, and
disability studies in children’s and young adult literature and I am particularly
drawn to young adult books exploring diverse identities in adolescents.
I just presented my paper, “(En)Able the (Dis)Abled” at the 40th Annual Southwest Popular/American Culture Association, exploring representations of disability in young adult literature, and I hope to delve deeper into the topic of disabled identities in children’s and young adult literature.
As a child I quickly developed a passion for reading and
language in general, which seemed to pave the way for my future studies. I was
constantly reading to the point where I would get in trouble for being up too
late with a flashlight and a book. The first Harry Potter stole my heart at six years old and seemed to spark my
true passion for reading. My interests for reading slowly developed into a love
for fantasy and fiction, and especially horror and supernatural elements in
young adult literature.
When I am not doing work for the National Center for the
Study of Children’s Literature or schoolwork, I can be found with my nose in a
book, researching or writing novels, trying to find the next horror movie or obscure
documentary, or looking at one too many pictures of dogs. A couple books that
have stolen my heart are The Female of
The Species by Mindy McGinnis and the Six
of Crows series; I am always looking forward to finding a new book.
I am so thankful to be a part of the National Center for the
Study of Children’s Literature, and I cannot wait to see what this semester
brings. I look forward to learning more in the vast and ever-evolving world of
children’s literature and I hope to bring my own voice into the conversation. I
would love to chat with you about literature or anything else.
-SS
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