Dr. Amanda Stephenson

After working for several years as a professional photographer I completed a BA (hons) in English and Film at the University of Southampton. I then went on to complete a Masters and then a PhD in film. My PhD research worked to bring together theories surrounding adaptation, authorship, fandom, childhood and celebrity culture. Entitled The Construction of Authorship and Audience in the Production and Consumption of Children’s Film Adaptations, my thesis argued that the discursive negotiation of author and audience is pivotal in filmmakers attempts to side-step or manage the seemingly unavoidable discourses of fidelity.

Fellow of Higer Education Academy (2008)

AUB Student Union Thank You Awards (2017)

My PhD examines the construction of authorship and childhood in the marketing of children’s film adaptations. It considers how the book and film author are negotiated in press and marketing material, and the impact that this has on the way the child audience is imagined and addressed. My current research is focused more widely on film and theatrical adaptations of Roald Dahl’s children’s books and examines the way that the notion of `darkness’ is used as a marketing device as well as how those adapting the texts seek to represent children’s voices.