About Me

Elizabeth Leach-Leung (née Leung)

Alt text: Elizabeth wearing a purple shirt with greenery in the background.
Image description: Elizabeth wearing a purple shirt with greenery in the background.

Elizabeth Leach-Leung (she/her) received her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge where her thesis, Representations of Dyslexia Across Genres in Children’s and Young Adult Literature, received the Faculty of Education Doctoral Student Excellence Prize. In addition to children’s and young adult literature, disability studies (particularly dyslexia studies), and genre studies, her areas of academic interest include media studies, Disney studies, contemporary literature, new adult literature, posthumanism, and creative writing for children and young adults. She is the co-founder and editor-at-large of Young Adulting: Serious Reviews of Books for Kids and Teens, an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Young Adult Literature (IJYAL) and chaired the international academic conference Crip Kid Lit: Critical Approaches to Disability in Children’s and Young Adult Literature and Media (April 2024). As a Canadian and frequent traveller, she will always correct people who mistakenly call toques ‘beanies’ or ‘woollen/knitted hats.’

Young Adulting

A cartoon book with a red cover which reads "YA".
Image description: A cartoon book with a red cover which reads “YA”.

An online magazine based out of the UBC School of Creative Writing that publishes entertaining and insightful analyses of books for young readers. 

IJYAL

The acronym IJYAL in blue with the letters YA in a darker navy.
Image description: The acronym IJYAL in blue with the letters YA in a darker navy.

The International Journal of Young Adult Literature is an academic peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing original and serious scholarship on young adult literature from all parts of the world.

Crip Kid Lit

An open book above which is a lightbulb and brain. The text underneath reads "Crip Kid Lit Symposium".
Image description: An open book above which is a lightbulb and brain. The text underneath reads “Crip Kid Lit Symposium”.

An international, fully hybrid conference held at the University of Cambridge and Online in April 2024 which mobilized knowledge at the intersections of children’s literature and disability studies.