Alyson Simpson is a Professor in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. Starting with a background as a teacher librarian she is a passionate children’s literature specialist working with pre-service teachers in Undergraduate and Graduate-entry programs in English and Literacy Education. As a volunteer, she has actively supported the work of the Kids Own Australian Literature Awards [KOALA], the Children’s Book Council of Australia and IBBY for over 20 years.  

Her research projects focus on the role of children’s literature in education, the power of dialogic learning and the impact of digital technology on reading practices and pedagogy. She combines her expertise in the study of language, literature and literacy with enquiry methods examining dialogic classroom interaction, teacher and learner agency and future focussed pedagogy working with primary school students, pre-service teachers, teachers and teacher educators.  

She was awarded an Office of Learning & Teaching Citation (2015) “passionate commitment to dialogic pedagogy that inspires students as literacy educators learning to teach critically and creatively with children’s literature” and the Maurice Saxby Award for service to children’s and/or young adult literature from the School Library Association of New South Wales (2020).