Resources: Lit in Colour Teacher Conference 2025 by Discovering Literature – British Library

Keynote: Joy Mbakwe

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 10:05:20 UTC

A short address detailing Joy’s journey and reflections when curating a culturally and racially diverse curriculum in an inner-city state school in London.

Panel discussion: Englishes

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 10:56:38 UTC

Hosted by Dr Furzeen Ahmed, with Maisie Chan, Nicole-Rachelle Moore and Derek Owusu. This discussion explores the global evolution of the English language due to the British Empire and subsequent migration. Panellists reflect on texts, research and experiences, to help teachers and librarians reflect on their current practices, hesitations, and opportunities for deeper engagement with varied uses of the English language.

Discovering Children's Books: Step inside your story resource hub

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 11:03:26 UTC

Join Maisie Chan and JT Williams to celebrate representation, by inviting your students to make books in which they are the stars. Find instructions, book inspiration, certificates and videos by beloved authors.

British Library Schools hub

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 11:05:12 UTC

Looking for inspiring and educational activities for your primary or secondary school? Join us for workshops, tours and events in London, Leeds, and online. Upcoming event highlights include National Poetry Day with Manjeet Mann, Step Inside Your Fantasy Adventure with Katie and Kevin Tsang and Viviane Schwarz, and Exploring Black British Literature – Live! with Malorie Blackman.

Discovering Literature: new resources

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 11:05:37 UTC

Our new films, articles, timeline and digitised sources focus on widening the representation of ethnically diverse authors and continuing to support teachers to diversify the English curriculum. Explore resources connected to Andrea Levy's Small Island, Malorie Blackman, James Berry's poetry, South Asian writing in Britain and more.

Creative writing and poetry with Alex Wharton

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 11:47:36 UTC

With ideas for creative writing, this session supported Primary Literacy teachers in developing the confidence and sensitivity required to teach culturally expansive poetry.

Step inside your story

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 11:49:10 UTC

With authors Maisie Chan and JT Williams, this session aimed to inspire you to celebrate representation by inviting your students to make books in which they are the stars.

Power, Place, and Poetry: Teaching Empire and Identity in the GCSE Classroom

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 11:52:00 UTC

In this session, DeMarco Ryans explored a selection of the new poems by writers of colour recently added to the GCSE

English Literature specifications. The session examined language, imagery, and structural choices that reflect these tensions and histories, and directly addressed some of the discomforts or barriers teachers may face when teaching these poems.

Leave Taking by Winsome Pinnock

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 12:35:01 UTC

In this session, Samantha Wharton and Lynette Armstrong offered reflections on the significance of the addition of Leave Taking to three exam board specifications, and shared insights gathered since studying and teaching the text.

South Asian writing in Britain

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 12:41:20 UTC

In this session, Noha Choudhury from the British Library introduced the new South Asian writing in Britain timeline and explored works by an array of writers from South Asian and British heritages, spanning from the 19th-21st century. This included examples of non-fiction and fiction including letters, magazines, novels, poetry and plays, and ideas for how to embed these texts into your classroom.

Handling racism and language on race

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 12:51:23 UTC

Presented by Bennie Kara, this session shared some guiding principles for approaching racism, language on race and racist language in the English classroom. The session also provided a space for teachers to reflect, ask questions, and discuss challenges when discussing race, racism and empire in their school contexts.

Reading in the classroom and the library

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 12:54:31 UTC

In this session, Tessa

Roynon and Harriet Hinze explored their school’s use of The (incomplete) Lit in Colour book lists, and demonstrated how the collaboration between the library and the English department can effectively foster students’ sustained engagement with texts by authors of colour.

Exploring Black British Literature through the archives

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 16:44:32 UTC

In this session, the British Library Learning team and Curators explored novels, poetry and plays by authors of Caribbean, African and British heritage. Discover unique literary drafts, notebooks, photographs and contextual sources from the Library’s archives, and find out more about our popular school’s workshop, Exploring Black British Literature.

Lit in Colour: All teaching resources

discovering_literature — 2025-09-17 16:55:18 UTC

To support teachers, Lit in Colour and partners have developed this library of free resources to increase knowledge and confidence in teaching texts by authors of colour in the classroom.

Keynote: Sathnam Sanghera

discovering_literature — 2025-09-22 14:18:23 UTC

Taking the title of his new book Journeys of Empire as the theme of this keynote, Sathnam Sanghera discusses how important it is to understand the British Empire through literature, and how this contributes to our shared understanding of modern UK society.

The Lit in Colour (incomplete) book lists

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:48:30 UTC

The (incomplete) Lit in Colour timeline

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:48:49 UTC

Lit in Colour: Engaging with Empire (KS2/3)

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:49:09 UTC

Lit in Colour: Stolen History by Sathnam Sanghera

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:49:34 UTC

Lit in Colour: Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:50:04 UTC

Lit in Colour: Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman (KS4)

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:50:20 UTC

Lit in Colour: My Name is Leon by Kit De Waal (KS4)

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:50:40 UTC

Lit in Colour: Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman (KS2)

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:51:22 UTC

Lit in Colour: Reflective practice session (Secondary)

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:54:19 UTC

Reflective practice session (Secondary) teaching resource

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:54:46 UTC

Lit in Colour: Reflective practice session (Primary)

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:55:24 UTC

Reflective practice session (Primary) teaching resource

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:55:43 UTC

In conversation with Bernardine Evaristo (KS5)

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:56:20 UTC

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo: teaching resource

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:57:14 UTC

In conversation with Tanika Gupta (KS4)

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:57:34 UTC

The Empress by Tanika Gupta: teaching resource

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:58:14 UTC

In conversation with Nazneen Ahmed Pathak (KS2/3)

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:58:44 UTC

City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak: teaching resource

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 13:59:10 UTC

Small Island by Andrea Levy: character, setting, context, legacy

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 14:01:16 UTC

In this film, Hannah Lowe and Nicole-Rachelle Moore introduce Small Island by Andrea Levy. Through notes, sketches and drafts from Andrea Levy’s archive, discover how Levy developed character, voice and setting in the novel and explore key contexts including Windrush and migration from the Caribbean to Britain.

South Asian writing in Britain: a timeline

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 14:01:30 UTC

Explore a snapshot of the vast wealth of literature written and published in Britain and Ireland by writers of South Asian heritage and learn more about the history of South Asian writing in Britain.

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Equiano's autobiography, book tour, legacy

discovering_literature — 2025-09-23 14:01:42 UTC

In this film, S I Martin and Sandra A Agard introduce Olaudah Equiano and his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African. Discover more about the book, Black and African writers in 18th-19th century Britain, Equiano’s abolitionist campaigning, and his legacy.

CLPE Reflecting Realities

discovering_literature — 2025-09-29 14:28:31 UTC

Find out more and access reports from Reflecting Realities, the first UK study looking at diversity in children's literature.