Less than a year after completing his Masters of Arts in Children’s Literature at UBC, with a thesis in young adult literature exploring queer sexual identity and religion, Rob Bittner began doctoral studies at Simon Fraser University, in the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies. His growing expertise in the topic attracted the attention of the British Columbia Library Association’s Young Adult and Children’s Services section (YAACS), leading to an invitation for Rob to present “LGBTTIQQ² (AKA non-hetero) Fiction” at the Burnaby Public Library in September. His session was prefaced with an exploration of Queer terminologies. Following the presentation, he discussed the historical transition of Queer literature and offered his literature recommendations for material reflecting diverse juvenile gender identities and young adult sexual identities. He also shared suggestions for online resources and bibliographic reference guides.

YAACS collaborated with the LGBTQ Interest Group and the Intellectual Freedom Committee to co-host the event. A more detailed report can be found on the BCLA Browser: http://bclabrowser.ca/index.php/browser/article/view/458

The full presentation was recorded and is available on Youtube:

Part 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1cZzDHraCQ&feature=context-gau
Part 2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG2cqQPTyls&feature=context-gau