Panel Q&A: InclusiveStorytelling (Cultural Futures Conference, Spring 2025, Day 2.)

Описание: Join Dr Corey Hartley, Elizabeth Hopkinson, Beth O’Brien and Suresh Ariaratnam as they discuss the importance of inclusive storytelling. Learn how diverse perspectives — especially those of marginalised groups — are crucial in reshaping cultural narratives for a more inclusive future.

Dr Corey Hartley, researcher and trans* advocate.

Dr Corey Hartley is a passionate advocate for trans* education. She holds a PhD from the University of Leeds, with her thesis entitled 'Rewriting the Fiction of Gender Binary', which critically examines the ways in which societal narratives around gender are constructed, deconstructed, and re-imagined. Corey's academic career has been marked by her extensive involvement with universities across the UK, where she has lectured and collaborated with faculty members to empower both students and staff in understanding the unique challenges faced by trans* individuals. Corey’s most recent research role is with the Gender Transcending Project at The Folklore Centre, Todmorden, funded by Culturedale and the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF). She has worked alongside local councils and cultural institutions to integrate more inclusive narratives within heritage projects, ensuring that trans* stories are represented and acknowledged in historical contexts.

Elizabeth Hopkinson, author and activist.

Elizabeth is an award-winning author of historical fantasy and fairy tales with asexual, nonbinary, LGBTQIA+ and disability/chronic illness/mental health representation. She is best-known for 'Asexual Fairy Tales', which is now starting to be studied academically at various levels, from GCSE to post-graduate. She is a regular speaker and workshop leader, who has taught several courses at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School. Since writing Asexual Fairy Tales, Elizabeth has become an asexual rights activist, and was a panellist on Stonewall’s very first Ace/Aro panel.

Beth O’Brien, founder and editor.

Beth O’Brien is the founder and editor of 'Disabled Tales'. She is an English Literature BA and Creative Writing MA graduate from the University of Birmingham. She is also the author of four adult poetry books, including 'I Chase Lightning' (Black Pear Press, 2022). Having been born visually impaired and with an upper-limb difference, Beth has a long-standing interest in the representation of disability in literature and is currently studying for a PhD in creative writing funded by Midlands4Cities, researching the representation of disability in contemporary fairytale retellings. Her debut novel, 'Wolf Siren', is a loose Red Riding Hood retelling with a visually impaired protagonist, which will be published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in March 2025.

Suresh Ariaratnam, artist advisor and board director.

Suresh Ariaratnam has worked in the creative industries for twenty-five years, primarily as a literary agent. Having focused on championing equality of opportunity and of outcome for authors from minoritised ethnicities, he remains involved in helping to ensure the equitable treatment of people from marginalised communities, in the creative economy and more generally. A co-chair of Literature Works, he also serves as a trustee of Trussell, a director of Norland College, and as a member of the British Library Advisory Council. He is a non-executive director at NHS Somerset and NHS Dorset HealthCare and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant (Somerset) in 2024.