Emily E. Roach

After working as a lawyer in London for over a decade, I returned to academia full time in 2016. I hold a B.A. Hons and M.A. (Oxon) in Jurisprudence from Oxford University, an M.A. in Children's Literature from Roehampton University (2012) and an M.A. in Contemporary Literature and Culture from the University of York (2017), where I am currently a PhD candidate, writing a thesis on the queer virtual stage of transgender performance poets, theorising and queering online space and exploring time, transition and politics in trans performance poetry. My previous M.A. dissertations focused on Harry Potter fanfiction (Roehampton) and queer temporalities in gay and bisexual male-authored twenty-first century YA fiction (York). My areas of academic research include post-Stonewall LGBT American fiction, LGBTQ+ YA fiction, slam and spoken word poetry, queering popular culture, LGBTQ+ fiction produced in virtual spaces, fan communities and fandom. I'm a freelance writer and volunteer for several LGBT charities, with a particular focus on LGBT youth, bisexuality and non-binary gender identity. Can be found on Twitter @dustlesslibrary, writing fanfic under a pseud or getting my hair dyed. Again.

Media
Fansplaining Podcast.  Guest speaker.  Episode 37: Queer YA and Beyond also briefly featured in Episode 55: Happy Anniversary #2

Bi Dean Podcast. Guest Speaker. Episode 4: Is It 'Too Late' For Dean to Come Out? 

Quoted
‘Too closure for comfort: the death of definitive TV endings’ by Zoe Williams, The Guardian, 24 April 2017

‘The final frontier: how sci-fi is becoming less male’ by Dan Martin, The Guardian, 9 May 2017 ​​

Chapters 
Polyjuice, Potterheads and the Changing Face of HP Fandom: From Livejournal to Tumblr (Forthcoming)

AIDS, Homophobia and the Monstrous Upside Down: The Queer Subtext of Stranger Things in Uncovering Stranger Things: Essays on Eighties Nostalgia, Cynicism and Innocence in the Series ed. Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr., McFarland & Company, Inc., 2018

Harry Potter and the Cursed Closet: Queerbaiting, Slash Shipping, and ‘The Cursed Child' in Harry Potter and Convergence Culture: Essays on Fandom and the Expanding Potterverse ed. Amanda Firestone and Leisa A. Clark, McFarland & Company, Inc., 2018

Epilogue? What Epilogue? Re-visioning the Harry Potter Canon in Fanon, Harry Potter Still Recruiting, Winged Lion Press, 2012

Journals
The Homoerotics of the Boyband, Queerbaiting and RPF in Pop Music Fandoms, Journal of Fandom Studies (Forthcoming, 2018)

The Class Divide: Creditors Fight for Equality as the SIVs Collapse, International Insolvency Law Review, Volume 2, 2010

Conferences
This Paper is Problematic: The Impact of Changing Platforms on Fandom Content, Fan Studies Network Conference, Cardiff University (2018, forthcoming)

Tales of the City: America's Queer Geographies in Gay Male Authored Fiction, York Explore Library (2018)

Homoerotics, Homonormativity and Big Gay Hogwarts: Queer Perspectives on the Internet's Biggest Slash Fandoms, University of York (2018)

Queer Temporalities and Gay Male Identities in Twenty-First Century American YA Fiction, University of Northampton (2017)

Queerbaiting, Queer Coding and Queer Visibility from Sherlock to Stranger Things, University of York (2017)

Harry Potter and the Quest for Family: Heteronormativity and Homonormativity in Canon and Fandom, ‘Leviosa’ Harry Potter convention, Las Vegas (2016)

Queer Identity in Contemporary YA Fiction at ‘Let’s Hear it for the Girls’ interdisciplinary conference, Warwick University (2016)

All Publicity is Good Publicity? On Selling and Silencing Fanfiction at the ‘Annual Great Creative Writing Conference,’ Imperial College London (2015)

Sexualising Severus Snape: Slashing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at ‘Magic is Might’ international academic conference exploring the cultural influence of the Harry Potter books and films, University of Limerick (2012)

Cross-Border Fannish Interaction: The Boundless Internet and Participatory Culture in the Harry Potter Fandom at ‘Cross Boundaries: Translations and Migrations’ the 33rd IBBY International Congress, Imperial College (2012)

Queer Pleasure, Pornography and Romance in Participatory Culture: Slashing and Shipping the ‘Boy Who Lived’ at ‘The Pleasures of Romance’ Fourth Annual International Conference on Popular Romance Studies, University of York (2012)

Dealing with Death: Tough Topics in Poetry for Children at the IBBY/NCRCL Annual Conference, Roehampton University (2011)

Gay Gryffindors and Slashy Slytherins:  Feminism and Gender, Pornography and Romance in Slash Fiction at DiaconAlley, a Harry Potter fan convention at the University of Kent (July 2011)

Numerous panel roles at fan conventions, including Nine Worlds Geek Fest (London, England (2012, 2013, 2015)), Dragon*Con (Atlanta, Georgia, USA (2012)) and Leviosa (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (2016)).  Panel topics have included queering popular culture, slash fiction and feminism, ageism and body image in femmeslash, writing the taboo and queer representation in young adult fiction. 

Volunteer Work
York LGBT Forum - Bisexuality Subgroup Coordinator and Schools and Young People Subgroup Coordinator
York LGBT History Month - Assistant Coordinator, 2017, 2018
Stonewall - Bi Role Model and Schools Role Model