Into the Hundred-Acre Wood: Queering Space in Children’s Literature

Join us at the University of Surrey to spend the day wandering through the fantastical forests, magical gardens, and liminal riverbanks of children’s literature; E. H. Shepard’s personal archives; and published illustrations from the HarperCollins Publishers Collection. 

At 11am, queer theory specialist Dr Amy Louise Morgan, will analyse children’s literary spaces as sites of imagination and transformation filled with queer potential. Following the talk, you will go on an ‘expotition’ to the University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections Research Room where our archivist partners, Hollie Piff and Rachel White, will provide guided access to unique archive materials relating to Winnie-the-Pooh and The Wind in the Willows illustrator E. H. Shepard and his captivating landscapes. 

Your adventure will culminate 2-4pm in a two-hour writing workshop led by award-winning children’s literature author, Ally Sherrick, supported by historical fiction author, Dr Beth Roberts. Here, you will have the opportunity to construct your own extraordinary literary space. 

The event is suitable for 16+

This event is part of Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 5-14 November 2026. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. 

For further information, please see beinghumanfestival.org

Please review the University of Surrey's Privacy Notice regarding events here.