LGBTQ+ History Month: Authors in Conversation

Sarah Hagger-Holt is the award-winning author ‘The Fights That Make Us’, her fourth children’s novel.

Catherine Lee is Professor of Inclusive Education and Deputy Dean at Anglia Ruskin University and author of ‘Pretended: Schools and Section 28: Historical, Cultural and Personal Perspectives’.

To mark LGBT+ History month, and the launch of ‘The Fights That Make Us’, Sarah and Catherine will be in conversation about LGBTQ+ histories, the power of storytelling, the impact of Section 28 and the issues facing LGBTQ+ students and teachers in education today.

There will be plenty of time for questions and we hope you will join in the conversation.

All are welcome, especially teachers, librarians, students, young readers and their families, booksellers and anyone interested in LGBTQ+ history.

What’s ‘The Fights That Make Us’ about?

Jesse has recently come out as non-binary, and is struggling to find their place at school, and ideas for their project on lost stories from history.

Thirty-five years earlier, Jesse’s cousin Lisa is falling for her best friend, but with new laws being introduced to restrict LGBTQ+ people’s rights, they’ll have to fight for the world to accept who they are.

When Jesse stumbles across Lisa’s teenage diary, they are fascinated and horrified by her stories of living a secret life and protesting in the streets. Now it’s Jesse’s turn to find a way to shine a spotlight on a history that mustn’t be forgotten.

What’s ‘Pretended’ about?

Pretended is a vivid historical, political and cultural account of schools and teaching under Section 28, a law that banned schools in the UK from promoting homosexuality as a ‘pretended family relationship’. Drawing on her diary entries from the Section 28 era, Catherine poignantly recalls the challenges affecting thousands of other gay and lesbian teachers during this period of state-sanctioned homophobia.

Pretended also describes the political climate leading up to the introduction of Section 28, and describes how the introduction of a children’s book, Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin sparked the moral panic that ultimately led to Section 28.