Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025): Leaf Journal: On Writing for Young People

Colourful umbrellas against a blue sky with a city street below.

Volume Three of Leaf Journal contains ten new article with a greater international focus than ever. Three loose themes emerged from the successful submissions: LGBTQ+ writing for young people; writing through a disability and mental health lens and finally, explorations of the intersections of craft and ethics. As a collection they form a timely and important provocation to contemporary writers for children and young adults.

Published: 03.07.2025

Editors' Letter

Editors' Letter

Elen Caldecott, Lucy Cuthew (Author)
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Scholarly Articles

Beyond the Binary: Shapeshifting and Nonbinary Identity in Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction Drawing on posthumanist and queer perspectives, Candice Lemon-Scott argues that the shapeshifter can disrupt binary gender norms.

Dr Candice Lemon-Scott (Author)
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The Trickster Figure in Queer YA: A Case Study of Margaret Owen’s Little Thieves The emerging space of queer Young Adult literature is a vibrant storytelling landscape for trickster characters and trickster tales, argues Alex Henderson.

Dr Alex Henderson (Author)
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Queering the Short Story Cycle for Young Adult Fiction Authors seeking to represent a diverse range of queer identities have adopted the short story cycle, Chloe Cannell explains why.

Dr Chloe Cannell (Author)
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Inventing the Perfect Crush: Arguing for Middle-Grade Narratives with Aromantic Leads Varsha Varghese considers the issues that arise when writing Indian LGBTQ+ Middle Grade fiction.

Varsha Varghese (Author)
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The Child’s Experience of Relatives with Mental Health Problems: How Can Middle Grade Authors Combat Stigma? Hannah Durkan investigates how authors can compassionately portray characters with mental health problems.

Hannah Durkan (Author)
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Navigating Disability in Children’s Publishing: Insights from Disabled Authors The authors present the findings of a study that explored the experiences of six disabled children’s writers in the publishing industry.

Daniela Rozental, Dr Joanna Nadin (Author)
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Writing Generative Black Anger in Young Adult Historical Fiction Laura E. Jacquemond examines how writers of Black characters in YA historical fiction portray their protagonists, channeling their anger to positive ends in dangerous situations.

Laura E. Jacquemond (Author)
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The Evolution of AI Characters in Children’s Literature AI characters are evolving from the traditional ‘Pinocchio paradigm’ toward more autonomous identities; Rachel Hamilton and Christopher Piper explore this journey.

Rachel Hamilton, Christopher Piper (Author)
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A Practice-Based Research Approach to Selecting Point of View in a Young Adult Fantasy Fiction Novel Julia OConnor presents a practice-based research approach to selecting point of view for a Young Adult fantasy novel.

Julia OConnor (Author)
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A Guide to Responsible Scaring: What are the Limitations of Horror in Young Adult Fiction? Through a close reading of recent Young Adult horror novels Dan Hunt explores the building blocks of the Young Adult horror genre.

Dan Hunt (Author)
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Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025): Leaf Journal: On Writing for Young People

Editors' Letter

Editors' Letter

Scholarly Articles

Beyond the Binary: Shapeshifting and Nonbinary Identity in Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction Drawing on posthumanist and queer perspectives, Candice Lemon-Scott argues that the shapeshifter can disrupt binary gender norms.

The Trickster Figure in Queer YA: A Case Study of Margaret Owen’s Little Thieves The emerging space of queer Young Adult literature is a vibrant storytelling landscape for trickster characters and trickster tales, argues Alex Henderson.

Queering the Short Story Cycle for Young Adult Fiction Authors seeking to represent a diverse range of queer identities have adopted the short story cycle, Chloe Cannell explains why.

Inventing the Perfect Crush: Arguing for Middle-Grade Narratives with Aromantic Leads Varsha Varghese considers the issues that arise when writing Indian LGBTQ+ Middle Grade fiction.

The Child’s Experience of Relatives with Mental Health Problems: How Can Middle Grade Authors Combat Stigma? Hannah Durkan investigates how authors can compassionately portray characters with mental health problems.

Navigating Disability in Children’s Publishing: Insights from Disabled Authors The authors present the findings of a study that explored the experiences of six disabled children’s writers in the publishing industry.

Writing Generative Black Anger in Young Adult Historical Fiction Laura E. Jacquemond examines how writers of Black characters in YA historical fiction portray their protagonists, channeling their anger to positive ends in dangerous situations.

The Evolution of AI Characters in Children’s Literature AI characters are evolving from the traditional ‘Pinocchio paradigm’ toward more autonomous identities; Rachel Hamilton and Christopher Piper explore this journey.

A Practice-Based Research Approach to Selecting Point of View in a Young Adult Fantasy Fiction Novel Julia OConnor presents a practice-based research approach to selecting point of view for a Young Adult fantasy novel.

A Guide to Responsible Scaring: What are the Limitations of Horror in Young Adult Fiction? Through a close reading of recent Young Adult horror novels Dan Hunt explores the building blocks of the Young Adult horror genre.