Feminist author, speaker and activist Laura Bates will be joining award-winning author Patrice Lawrence at a special event to discuss the importance of representation in young adult literature.

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Bates founded the Everyday Sexism Project website in April 2012, at just 26 years old. Her first book, Everyday Sexism, was published in 2014; she has since gone on to publish seven more books, both fiction and non-fiction.

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Representation in literature means so much more than ticking a box or putting a book in a niche category. It is about shared joy, appreciation and ambition, about making space for lost stories and giving words to those whose voices have historically been silenced. It matters for children, their aspirations and identity, and for all of us as a community. I am so hugely excited to discuss all this and much more with the brilliant Patrice Lawrence at Alton Arts Festival.

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-Laura Bates