Celebrating World Book Day: Representation in the Library Matters - for students and for the staff.

Each March the Belonging Effect holds our annual virtual World Book Day event to celebrate the educators in our diverse network who are published authors. 

Our Why?

• As a Post-Colonial Literature graduate, as a former English teacher, and as an avid reader, Hannah seeks out representative authors and texts throughout the year to spotlight.
• As the Founder of the Belonging Effect, she is a champion of why representation matters and strives to amplify diverse voices. 
• As a published author and co-editor of a book, she is keen to disrupt educational voices including who gets published and who gets platformed.

Our How?

• We host an annual virtual livestream – the authors join me in the Streamyard studio and you watch it on Youtube. The recording then goes on our website.
• We amplify the author, their voice and their book.
• The audience gets to share feedback and ask questions about how they got started, how they found a publisher and the challenges they faced in the writing process. 

Our What?

• We hear about their latest book, what they wrote, who they wrote it for and how they got it published. 
• You get inspired to put pen to paper as a blogger or as an author.  

You can catch up on all of our WBD events archive from 2021-2026 HERE. 

So who has joined us from our network at our previous events and which books have we explored? 

Our 2021 author line-up: 

• Andy Moffat – No Outsiders
• Angie Browne – Lighting the Way
• Bennie Kara – Diversity in Schools
• Daniel Tomlinson-Gray – Big Gay Adventures in Education
• Diana Osagie – Courageous Leadership 
• Emma Turner – Let’s Talk About Flex  
• Jim Roberson – The Discipline Coach
• Karl Pupe – The Action Hero Teacher  
• Viv Grant – Staying Ahead 

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2021 Bookshop shelf.  

Our 2022 author line-up: 

• Amy Sayer – Supporting Mental Health in Your School
• Anoara Mughal – Think!
• Jess Gosling – Becoming a Successful International Teacher
• Dr Kulvarn Atwal – The Thinking School
• Meena Wood – Secondary Curriculum Transformed
• Nadia Lopez – The Bridge to Brilliance 
• Nikki Cunningham-Smith – Feel Free to Smile
• Rae Snape – Headteachers’ Handbook
• Sameena Choudry – Equitable Education
• Shaun Dellenty – Celebrating Difference

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2022 Bookshop shelf.  

Our 2023 author line-up: 

• Action Jackson – Happy School 365
• Aisha Thomas – Representation Matters
• Angeline Aow and Sadie Hollins – Becoming as Totally Inclusive School
• Emma Sheppard – Teaching, Parenting and Creating Family-Friendly Schools
• Emma Turner – Simplicitus
• Dr Haili Hughes – Humans in the Classroom
• Dr Jill Berry – The Dresser
• Karl Pupe – Action Hero Teacher II
• Lekha Sharma – Curriculum to Classroom
• Lindsay Patience/ Lucy Rose – Flex Education

• Mandy Preville-Findlay – Azani Runs
• Miriam Manderson – From Hood to Headship
• Stuart Lawrence – Silence is not an Option (not Find Your Voice)
• Tracey Leese – Teach Like a Queen 

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2023 Bookshop shelf. 

Our 2024 author line-up: 

• Dr Adam Brett and Jo Brassington – Pride and Progress
• Alison Rendle and Kit Messenger – Curious Not Furious
• Andre Double – Leading Your International School
• Bismha Afzal – Amna and Amy
• Laura Henry-Allain MBE – My Family, Your Family
• Lucy Kelly – Reimagining the Diary
• Dr Megel Barker – Critical Issues and Global Trends in International Education
• Nadia Hewstone – The Happy Headteacher
• Naomi Evans – Everyday Action, Everyday Change
• Orlene Badu – How to Build Your Anti-racist Classroom
• Rachel Macfarlane – Unity in Diversity
• Sarah Wordlaw – Time to Shake Up the Primary Curriculum 
• Troy Jenkinson – The Most Contented Snail
• Yamina Bibi – Thriving in Your First Years of Teaching

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2024 Bookshop shelf. 

Our 2025 author line-up: 

• Dr Adam Brett and Professor Catherine Lee – The Guide to LGBT+ Research
• Amjad Ali – SEND in Schools
• Andri Zafirakou – Lessons in Life
• Bennie Kara – The Diverse Curriculum
• Caren Onanda and Kemi Oluyinka – Black in School
• Charlotte Rowley and Tracey Leese – Wellbeing Wins for Teachers
• Emily Folorunsho – Succeeding as a History Teacher
• Evelyn Forde – Herstory
• Frances Akinde – Be an Ally not a Bystander
• Dr Karamat Iqbal – British Pakistani Boys, Education and the Role of Religion
• Kerry Kurczij and Zara Shah – Bloomsbury Teacher Guide: Anita and Me
• Dr Kulwinder Maude – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Teaching
• Kwame Sarfo-Mensah – Learning to Relearn
• Nicola Harvey – Mindful Little Yogis
• Purvi Gandhi – Student Mental Health

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2025 Bookshop shelf. 

Our 2026 author line-up: 

• Amy Sayer – How to Build a Meaningful Mental Health Curriculum 
• Christopher Clyde Green, Djamila Boothman and Thishani Wijesinghe – All of Us: KS5 Anthology

• Dr Dwight Weir – The Inclusive Leader
• Emma Slade Edmondson – Mixed
• Funmilola Rothery and Natasha Raheem – Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Schools
• Dr Helen Ross – Literacy Learning Journeys
• Lewis Wedlock – Masculinities in Schools 
• Morgan Whitfield – Gifted?
• Nadine Bernard – Your Leadership Matters
• Olly Pike – What Does LGBT+ Mean?
• Patrick Cozier – Calm Leadership
• Priya Bhagrath – Creating an Anti-racist Curriculum for Children with SEND 
• Sarah Wordlaw – M is for Misogyny
• Sean Harris – Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools
• Shareen Wilkinson – Disciplinary Literacy in Primary Schools
• Zahara Chowdhury – Creating Belonging in the Classroom

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2026 Bookshop shelf. 

We are now planning ahead for our next event. You can join us on March 4th 2027 for our next virtual WBD event by booking a free place here.

Our 2027 author line-up:

• Dr Dane Morace-Court – Neoliberal Boys: Class, Masculinity and the Crisis in Education
• Delyth Lynch – Beyond Compliance: The DSL’s guide to creating a school-wide culture of safeguarding
• Emma Kell and Clemmie Stewart – Engaging Parents and Carers with School 

• Emma Swift and Natalie Chilvers – Succeeding as a Science Teacher 

• Jaz Ampaw-Farr – Because of You, This is Me 
• Dr Jo Trevenna – Subversion, Power and Hierarchy in Organisations and Society: Carnivalesque Leadership
• Katy Granville-Chapman – Growing Minds: The science of raising thriving teens
• Laura McPhee – Empowering Teachers, Improving Schools: Belonging, psychological safety and school improvement
• Naomi Ishiguro – The Rainshadow Organs 

• Pamela Aculey – Buster Finds His Beat
• Rachna Joshi – Froebel and Social Justice (Froebel in Practice)
• Rebbecca Hemmings – A Cultural Humility Approach to Antiracism: Guidance for Compassionate Leadership and Culture
• Shaheen Myers – The Human Side of School Leadership: How Courage, Connection and Care Transform Culture
• Thishani Wijesinghe – Collins A Level Set Text Teacher Guides – Girl, Woman, Other
• Victoria Bagnall – The Neuroinclusive Educator: Creating classrooms where every learner can thrive
• Virginia Mendez – Childhood Unlimited: Parenting Beyond the Gender Bias

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2027 Bookshop shelf.  

We hope to see you there! 

Do get in touch if you are from our network, have written a book or have a book in the pipeline. We would love to get you on a future event line up. Equally if you want to put pen to paper and start writing we have our blog and are always looking for new voices to amplify there too.