International LGBTQ+ Literature for Children and Young Adults

(Hardback)

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This edited collection explores LGBTQ+ literature for young readers around the world, and connects this literature to greater societal, political, linguistic, historical, and cultural concerns. It brings together contributions from across the academic and activist spectra, looking at picture books, middle-grade books and young adult novels to explore what is at stake when we write (or do not write) about LGBTQ+ topics for young readers. The topics include the representation of sexualities and gender identities; depictions of queer families; censorship; links between culture, language and sexuality/gender; translation of LGBTQ+ literature for young readers; and self-publishing. It is the first collection to expand the study of LGBTQ+ literature for young readers beyond the English-speaking world and to draw cross-cultural comparisons.

Reviews

This new collection brings together much needed scholarship on childrens and YA fiction featuring LGBTQ+ people and themes in languages other than English. Edited by preeminent researchers in the field, this is important reading for anyone interested in this growing and increasingly diverse genre of childrens literature. Mark McGlashan, Birmingham City University, UK

International LGBTQ+ Literature for Children and Young Adults is a testament both to the role of social change in expanding representations of diversity in childrens literature, and yet how far there is to go in terms of creating a world in which diversity is imaginable and indeed liveable for all. Damien W. Riggs, Flinders University, Australia

This fascinating snapshot of international LGBTQ+ material for young people makes for a timely contribution to comparative queer childrens literature studies and to our broader understanding of childhood in cultural context. A groundbreaking volume and indispensable resource. Kenneth Kidd, University of Florida, US

Bravely crossing linguistic and political boundaries, and splendidly unorthodox in their approach, Epstein and Chapman offer a ground-breaking collection of essays on international LGBTQ+ literature for young people, with a much-needed emphasis on non-English language texts. With contributions by academics, librarians, authors, and activists, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the power of childrens literature to reflect the complexities of and possibilities for young peoples lives. Paulette Rothbauer, Western University, Canada

International LGBTQ+ Literature for Children and Young Adults is a wide-ranging collection critically analysing LGBTQ+ literature for young people in diverse contexts. Epstein and Chapman have assembled an impressive list of chapters which open up possibilities for deeper and broader thinking about LGBTQ+ literature for young people beyond English-language texts. Clare Bartholomaeus, Flinders University, Australia

Aiming to map global representations of LGBTQ+, from picture books to YAF, this volume witnesses how tricky it is to navigate queerness, in fiction, activism, and academia. Eye-opening at times, highly provocative at others, in suggested readings and theoretical scope, the value of this study resides in its activist take on queer childrens literature. Mia sterlund, bo Akademi University and Helsinki University, Finland

The visibility of LGBTQ+ children and teenagers in Anglophone popular culture has increased in the last few decades, especially with the rising popularity of openly LGBTQ+ celebrities and films and teen series with major LGBTQ+ characters and the ever-increasing number of English-language LGBTQ+ books for all age groups. Young readers mostly LGBTQ+ children and teenagers have used social media and review sites to criticize the enduring predominance of didactic narratives with White, male, cisgender, and middle-class protagonists for failing to reflect the present-day reality and experiences of a significant proportion of the LGBTQ+ community. The chapters vary in focus, length, and style, yet they are coherent and complement one another International Journal of Young Adult Literature, Mateusz wietlicki, Assistant Professor at the University of Wrocaws Institute of English Studies.

Author Bio

B.J. Epstein is a senior lecturer in literature and public engagement at the University of East Anglia. She is also a writer, editor, and Swedish-to-English translator.

Elizabeth L. Chapman teaches education studies at Sheffield Hallam University and works for Sheffield libraries and as a freelance translator. Her research interests focus on LGBTQ+ fiction for children and young people.