International LGBTQ+ Literature for Children and Young Adults

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.

What does ‘queer’ have to do with children and young people and, in particular, with literature for them? How are sexualities and gender identities depicted in writing and illustration for younger readers in a variety of languages and cultures? How are queer families and the construction of queer families portrayed? How is this depiction influenced by the way the culture in question views queer identities? What is the connection between LGBTQ+ rights and literature for children and young adults?

These are some of the questions addressed in this edited collection. While English-language LGBTQ+ literature for young readers has been and continues to be explored in some depth in academia, this is the first book to compare LGBTQ+ children’s literature from around the world and to connect the literature to greater societal, political, linguistic, historical and cultural concerns. The aim of this book, then, is to explore LGBTQ+ literature for young readers around the world, particularly beyond the English-speaking countries/cultures.

This collection brings together contributions from across the academic and activist spectra, looking at picture books, middle-grade books and young adult novels. The foci of individual chapters include the representation of sexualities and gender identities, depictions of queer families, censorship, translation of LGBTQ+ literature for young readers, and self-publishing. Ultimately, the book considers what is at stake when we write (or do not write) about LGBTQ+ topics for young readers.