The Books Which Made Us: UON academics and staff unveil their top titles for World Book Day

As young people across the world don their book-based costumes, academics and staff at the University of Northampton have been reflecting on the ‘books which made them’.

Taking place annually on the first Thursday of March – this year on Thursday 7 March – World Book Day is an annual celebration of authors, illustrators and books, as well as an opportunity to reflect on the joy of reading and encourage young people to immerse themselves in literature.

To mark this year’s World Book Day, academics and staff at the University of Northampton have joined together in a podcast to take a moment to reflect on the ‘books which made them’ – those which have made an impact on them as a person, left a lasting impression and remain close to their heart.

“It really spoke to me despite the vast differences in our backgrounds and experiences” reflected Professor of Media and Culture, Lorna Jowett on her book selection of Audrey Lorde’s, ‘Sister Outsider’. “It was not just a pivotal point in my development as a person and a scholar, but it shifted my ideas of feminism, ideas of gender, race and sexuality.”

Listen to the ‘World Book Day: The Books Which Made Us’ podcast here: https://pod.fo/e/224a2f

The full running list of speakers and timings is as follows:

• 0:50 – Vice Chancellor Professor Anne-Marie Kilday
• 4:22 – Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology, John Sinclair
• 6:37 – Senior Student Communications Officer, Emily Shears
• 8:53 – Deputy Head of Subject: Culture – Media, Film and Special Effects, Dr Anthony Stepniak
• 14:53 – Programme Leader for English, Dr Phillippa Bennett
• 17:34 – Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law, Karen Jones
• 20:42 – Professor of Media and Culture, Professor Lorna Jowatt
• 25:04 – Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, Dr Rod Rosenquist
• 28:17 – Executive Officer, Nick Allen
• 34:28 – Content Marketing and Social Media Assistant, Junior-Cudjoe Impraim