Each year, the International Conference hosts a series keynote talks from some of the most respected names in literacy. With slots for authors and local, national and international names in teaching and research, the Keynote Speakers each year cover key aspects of literacy relating to the Conference theme.
Our first Keynote Speaker is scriptwriter, novelist and Children’s Laureate 2024-26, Frank Cottrell-Boyce. In 2004, Cottrell-Boyce won the Carnegie Medal for his novel Millions, adapted from the script he wrote for the film of the same name. Since then, he has been nominated for countless other awards, commissioned by Ian Fleming’s estate to write the sequels to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and, most recently, was named the Children’s Laureate 2024-26. Cottrell-Boyce grew up in Bootle, a Merseyside town just a stone’s throw away from Liverpool. We are absolutely thrilled to have such a national legend returning to the area he grew up in to join us at the International Conference this year.
Our International Keynote Speaker is interdisciplinary researcher, Anežka Kuzmičová. Kuzmičová earned her PhD at Stockholm University (2013) and now runs a cross-faculty research group at Charles University, Prague, where she has been since 2020. In 2022, she won the Neuron Prize for Promising Scientists for her research on literacy. Kuzmičová is currently embarking on her ERC StG project, Ways of Imagining in Children’s Lives with Information Texts (WONDRE; 2024-2029). Kuzmičová’s focus on the interplay between disciplines in her research is one that has pioneered a new way of approaching literacy studies. We are very excited to have a such leading figure in the field joining us at the International Conference this year.
Our academic Keynote Speaker is Dominic Wyse. Wyse is Professor of Early Childhood and Primary Education at UCL, and is the Founding Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (0-11 years) (HHCP) a research centre with a focus on primary and early years education. Wyse has made leading contributions to research on curriculum and pedagogy, including national curricula, for more than 25 years. He has led multiple research projects and has published many books and research papers, including bestselling books for teachers and educators. We can’t wait for Wyse to share his expertise with us in his talk ‘The Double Helix of Reading and Writing: From a new theory to new practices and new policies.’ in Liverpool this year.
Our local Keynote will be given by Mike Morris and Madeline Heneghan, Co-Directors of Writing on the Wall (WoW)
Mike and Madeline have led the curation and delivery of 25 annual festivals and hundreds of projects with communities across the Liverpool City region. Committed to nurturing young voices, they have spearheaded many projects for children and young people, including: Liverpool Young Writers, Superheroes: Words Are Our Power, and Spoken Word Power, empowering children to express themselves through storytelling and performance and ensuring young voices shape Liverpool’s cultural landscape. Most recently, they led on projects in the Walton area of Liverpool with primary and secondary pupils on spoken word performances that were a key feature of the ceremony to reopen Spellow Library and Hub, which was damaged by fire during the racist riots in August 2024. Together, they champion creativity, diversity, and empowerment for the next generation, and drive WoW’s long-term strategy, ensuring creative writing, literature and the arts remain a force for social change.