Twenty-fifth Annual Francelia Butler Student Conference on Children's Literature Keynote Speaker

Amanda Firestone is an assistant professor of communication at The University of Tampa. Her research broadly examines children’s and young adult literature as it pertains to the heroine’s coming-of-age. While international best-selling series like Harry Potter and The Twilight Saga have been her intensive sites for analysis, recently she has begun to examine zombie texts, like Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation and C.L. Lynch’s Chemistry, to better grasp the persistent fascination with the abject. From childhood, Firestone typically was more interested in monsters and the macabre than with “happily-ever-afters.” Her aspiration at age eight was to become Maleficent’s dragon alter-ego. It remains at the top of her priorities. Sponsored by the graduate program in children's literature and children's book illustration.