The strands 'Creative Writing' and 'Fairy Tales' are fully booked. 

This five-day programme focuses in 2024 on four thematic strands in children’s literature research:

  • creative writing
  • fairy tales
  • picturebooks
  • politics

Details of the 2024 programme will be announced in the following months. Participants who choose the creative writing strand will receive a short writing task (deadline 1 December 2023), on which the final admissions will be based. They will receive more information after registration for the strand.

Each workshop includes a list with required advance reading. All participants are expected to complete this reading before the start of the workshop. A PDF of the academic articles and chapters will be provided in the Blackboard learning environment, which will become available to participants a few weeks before the summer school starts. Participants are expected to get hold of the primary reading materials themselves.

Most workshops also list an assignment for students who want to earn credits for the summer school. Please respect the deadlines and guidelines for submission.

Spaces in the workshops are limited, so if you have a clear preference, it’s best to apply early to secure your place. Unfortunately, we cannot reserve spaces for students who have not completed application.  

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Target group

This summer school is mainly targeted at MA and PhD students, but also open to more senior researchers and professionals with an interest in children’s literature studies.

Participants should have at least completed 3 full years of undergraduate education (BA level) by the time of the summer school.

PhD students are given the opportunity to present their research projects or give a 20-minute paper in two workshops that will be reserved for this purpose. They will be invited to submit an abstract when they register for the summer school.

Michelle Martin at the 2019 Children's Literature summer school

     Elizabeth J. Mills and Michelle Martin at the 2019 Children's Literature Summer School.

Campus

This summer school takes place at Stadscampus (Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp) of the University of Antwerp. This campus is located in the city centre.

Micro-credential and study credits (ECTS)

3-6 ECTS credits can be awarded upon successful completion of the programme (including all assessment tasks).

  • To earn 3 ECTS students are required to attend the full summer school and submit preparatory tasks for the workshops. Note that this option is not available to students from the University of Antwerp, who can only take the course for 6 ECTS.
     
  • To earn 6 ECTS students are required to attend the full summer school, submit preparatory tasks for the workshops and complete a 4000-word paper on a topic related to one or several of the thematic strands. All students who want to earn 6 ECTS have to submit an application with motivation when they register for the summer school, as well as a paper topic. Applications will be accepted or rejected on the basis of the quality of the proposals.

To include the credits in the curriculum at the home institution, participants need an agreement with the responsible person at the home institution.

A certificate will be awarded at the end of the programme. All certificates of completion are issued as a micro-credential.

Picture book held before a view on Antwerp