What, when & where
The adult reader of children’s literature
Linguæ &. Rivista di lingue e culture moderne
In his book The Hidden Adult (2008) Perry Nodelman emphasizes that labels such as Victorian literature or women’s literature refer to the writer of the text rather than to its audience. However, children’s literature is very rarely written by children, and as a consequence the epithet is clearly audience-based. It is because of this that Nodelman defined the “hidden adult” writer behind the text in terms of authorship, marketing and moral standards.
Although much recent scholarship has concentrated on the nature of children’s literature as a genre, this special issue of Linguae & invites contributions that look specifically at the attraction of the genre for adult readers. It wants to concentrate on a series of questions that further concern Nodelman’s “hidden adult”. To what extent do writers of children’s books aim at an adult audience as well? Can a book for children be seen as conveying a hidden (moral) message to the child’s parents? Does it recreate a long-lost ideal of innocence for the grown-up reader? What marketing strategies entice an adult rather than a child to buy or desire such literature? To what extent do writers of children’s literature satisfy inner urges to write such literature? How does the writer of children’s literature try to influence a potential adult reviewer?
Deadline & how to apply
Authors wishing to propose a paper for this issue should register on the journal web site and upload their papers no later than December 15th, 2020. Although we prefer contributions in English, we also accept essays in Italian, French, German and Spanish.
Other info, Links & conditions
https://www.ledonline.it/index.php/linguae/information/authors
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