International LGBTQ+ Literature for Children and Young Adults

‘This new collection brings together much needed scholarship on children’s 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 children’s 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 children’s 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 children’s 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 children’s literature to reflect the complexities of and possibilities for young people’s 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 children’s literature.’ — Mia Österlund, Åbo 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 Świetlicki, Assistant Professor at the University of Wrocław’s Institute of English Studies.