Films/Videos Girl in the Picture 2022 Girl in the Picture is the distressing story of a man who was abandoned to a children's home where he was beaten and raped who then went on to abduct and abuse children. Girl in the Picture begins with the death in Oklahoma of a 20 year old woman. Her 2 year old son, Michael, is taken into foster care, and her husband, Clarence Hughes, is under suspicion. The dead woman is identified as Tonya Hughes, but when Tonya Hughes' mother is called, she says her daughter died at 18months of age. After 4 years in foster care, Michael Hughes is kidnapped by Clarence Hughes and disappears. It is decades before the real identity of the dead woman is uncovered. External Website

Radio & Podcast Adoption and moral obligation The Philosopher's Zone 2022 An interesting conversation on adoption as a 'moral duty' giving the number of children in the world (an estimated 16.2) who are orphans. Why the ongoing 'genetic preference' in families when so many other children need a home, is the question being explored. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles “America’s Literary Giant.” On the Legacy of Edgar Allan Poe in Vietnam Literary Hub (Nguyễn Bình ) 2024 In this LitHub article https://lithub.com/americas-literary-giant-on-the-legacy-of-edgar-allan-poe-in-vietnam/ Nguyễn Bình writes about the influence of Edgar Allan Poe in Vietnam. According to Nguyễn Bình, French writer Baudelaire had translated Poe’s work in 1917 and these translations became one of a number that young people would study and read while Vietnam was under French colonial rule. Says Nguyễn Bình: “For a time in history, Poe was the single most admired American author in Vietnam, and with that admiration, a whole generation of radical artists had crafted novel things, forever changing their country’s literary landscape.” Writers such as Thế Lữ, Chế Lan Viên, and Nguyễn Tuân were all influenced by Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan Poe spent his childhood in foster care. External Website

Sport Milan Galic Milan Galic Yugoslavian professional soccer player, Milan Galic (1938-2014), was in an orphanage as a child. Milan Galic is mentioned by Rale Rasic as being in the Belgrade orphanage, Centralni Lazaret, with him. Rasic writes: "The orphanage ended up producing many remarkable and successful people, including scientists, engineers and, of course, footballers. I shared a room with a guy called Milan Galic who, at 16, became one of the youngest players to play in the second division with Proleter. He captained the Yugoslav team that won the gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics and eventually captained the full senior side" (p. 20). According to Wikipedia, Milan Galic …”played for 4 clubs [and] represented Yugoslavia internationally…and worked for the Football Association of Yugoslavia” after he had finished playing. External Website

News - broadcast, print, internet, magazine articles ‘Designed to tear families apart’: a shocking film exposes abuse and infanticide The Guardian 2024 Reporter Veronica Esposito writes about the Devastating documentary Sugarcane which reveals horrifying stories from controversial Indigenous residential schools. Residential schools for Indigenous children have been a stain on the histories of both the United States and Canada, and although steps have been taken in making amends with the past, the new documentary Sugarcane reveals just how much of the process still remains incomplete. External Website

Children's Fiction Escape from Cockatoo Island Yvette Poshoglian 2021 Eleven-year-old orphan, Olivia Markham, has been sent to Cockatoo Island, in the middle of Sydney Harbour. She is desperate to escape the island, but mostly, she wants to find her own family. External Website

Television Shows Ashes to Ashes 2009 Ashes to Ashes (2009-2010) is a British fantasy crime drama and sequel to Life of Mars. It stars Keeley Hawes as Alex Drake Alex Drake is a police office with the London Metropolitan Police. She is shot in 2008 and regains consciousness in 1981. Alex believes she is being sent back to 1981 to save her parents from their deaths. After her parents died in a car bomb, 8-year-old Alex grew up in the foster care of her godfather, Evan White. Alex Drake joined the Metropolitan Police Service when she finished school. External Website

Authors J Foster Care and Me ➝ A Tribute to Daphne ➝ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ➝ Borderline ➝ Care to University ➝ In Gratitude ➝ I set off on an unchartered course...and found myself drifting ➝ Dussa and the Maiden's Prayer ➝ Looked After ➝ Saying Goodbye to Violet ➝ I was just trying to matter ➝ Plot 29: A Love Affair With Land ➝ This Boy. A Memoir of a Childhood ➝ Back to Top

Writers AUTHORS Q External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Author of ‘Hackney Child’ on absent parents, care homes, and Mother’s Day Cachella Smith 2021 Cachella Smith interviews author of 'Hackney Child' Jenny Molloy (Hope Daniels) about growing up in the care system, childhood and Mother's Day. External Website

Fiction by Care Experienced authors Nothing Natural Jenny Diski 1986 Nothing Natural is the 1986 debut novel by Jenny Diski, initially published in hardback through Simon & Schuster. It follows a young woman who enters into a sadomasochistic relationship with a charming and domineering man. The book, perceived as an S&M-book by the New Yorker, received some backlash upon its release, as critic Anthony Thwaite criticized it as being "the most revolting book I've ever read," and the feminist magazine Sisterwrite chose to ban Diski from publishing with them. Rachel Kee is a depressed single mother who has been slowly withdrawing from the world around her. She's still suffering from the lasting effects of a disastrous childhood where her father abandoned his family, pushing Rachel's mother further into madness and prompting Rachel's removal and placement in a foster home. When she meets Joshua, she's almost instantly drawn to him. The two begin to indulge in a sadomasochistic relationship where Joshua will appear for a rough session of sex and then disappear for months on end. Eventually Rachel begins to question the relationship, especially after reading about the kidnapping and rape of a young girl, complete with a composite sketch that greatly resembles Joshua. External Website

Writers Nadia Wheatley Nadia Wheatley was born in Sydney in NSW. At the age of 9 she went into informal foster after the death of her mother. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Sydney (1970) and a Masters from Macquarie University (1976). She was also award an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sydney in 2014. Nadia Wheatley has written children's books (many of which have received awards), biography and memoir. Her biography of another Australian writer, Charmian Clift, was awarded a NSW History Award in 2002. External Website

Films/Videos Carefree 2020 Video was made after a script session with young people in a care home in East London. It was a combined decision that it would be better than insread of basing characters on themselves that they were trained up as actors and that we would workshop stories that are not their own life stories but other people they have come across in care. All of the kids in the home were also given crew responsibilities and took part in the final edit. External Website

Writers Dennis Leoutsakas Dennis Leoutsakas grew up in the American foster care system. He has a Bachelor of Science from CUNY and a Master of Arts (Organizational Pyschology External Website

Radio & Podcast Foundling: Found Episode 7, Mo Jamil Julian Brown 2021 Foundling: Found is a podcast series, hosted by care-leaver Julian Brown, that investigates the real stories of care, from the Foundling Hospital archives dating back to 1739, right through to the present day. Setting the stigma surrounding those with care experience against those real stories. Over the course of 12 episodes, Julian will be joined by some very special guests as he uncovers the fact and the individuals behind the media and literature fiction. On today's episode, Julian is joined by the incredible singer, recording artist and all round amazing person Mo Jamil, about his experiences of both care, leaving it and the power of writing music to process that. External Website

Films/Videos Auntie Mame 1958 Patrick Dennis, orphaned in 1928 when his father Edwin dies unexpectedly, is placed in the care of his aunt Mame Dennis in Manhattan. Mame is flamboyant and exuberant, hosting frequent parties with a variety of guests and free-spirited friends Mr. Babcock (Fred Clark), Patrick's assigned executor, objects to Mame's unconventional way of living and tries to force her to send Patrick to prep school. As Mame and Patrick grow closer, Mr. Babcock tries to discipline Patrick and threatens to separate the two if Mame does not comply with his wishes. External Website

Sport Olympic Medallist Kenny Bednarek 2x Olympian and 2x Silver Medalist in the 2024 Olympics Kenny Bednarek is an American track and field sprinter. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and his fraternal twin brother, Ian, were placed in foster care due to abuse and neglect. Age 4, he and his brother were adopted by Mary Bednarek and moved to Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Both brothers took to running youth track starting in the second grade. Running for Rice Lake High School, Kenny won seven individual state titles and led his team to a 4×400 relay championship. “When I was in high school, I loved sports, but I also had a lot of feelings of insecurity and a lack of belonging,” recalled Kenny. “I always said I wanted to be an Olympian, but I think at the time, I wasn’t really thinking about what that required. I was just going through the motions.” When Kenny discovered track and field, he unlocked a new part of himself. He finally had a way to channel his energy into a positive and productive outlet. He defied the odds and started breaking records while running track there, quickly going pro. Most recently, he qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay events. His message to those touched by foster care and adoption is one of hope. “I want to inspire others and those who may have similar experiences and promote safety and stability for all children,” said Kenny. External Website

Films/Videos The Family 2016 Australian Anne Hamilton-Byrne headed an apocalyptic sect called The Family, which was prominent in Melbourne from the 1960s through to the 1990s. Hamilton-Byrne acquired numerous children and raised them as her own.The children were controlled through beatings, drugs and starvation and not rescued until 1987. External Website

Children's Fiction Madeline Ludwig Bemelmans 1996 "In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines." Our first introduction to the twelve little girls and Miss Clavel. Something is not right with Madeline. She wakes up with a terrible pain one night - it's her appendix! She has to go to hospital to have it taken out. Her friends are sad and miss her very much. But when they visit and find her surrounded by all her presents - and, best of all, see her new scar - they all decide they want their appendixes out too! External Website

Radio & Podcast Voices Unheard: Exploring Stigma of Children in Care through History to Modern Day with Dr Annie Skinner Annie Skinner 2024 Voices Unheard: Exploring Stigma of Children in Care through History to Modern Day with Dr Annie Skinner. Oxford Brookes Research Fellow and Social Historian, Dr Annie Skinner takes us on a journey through time to explore the history of stigmatisation of children in care and outlines the landscape of today. Annie's research focuses on identifying the hidden and unheard perspectives of the children themselves and liberates the silent voices behind these social histories. External Website