YA Anthologies
Amplifying Voices, Building Community

This is the first publication that looks at YA anthologies.

Melanie Ramdarshan Bold (Author)

9781108725620, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 27 June 2024

75 pages
17.7 x 12.6 x 0.7 cm, 0.12 kg

Despite their long publishing history, anthologies have received little scholarly attention. However, they play an important role in collecting, and reflecting upon, voices and identities that have all-to-often been on the fringes of publishing. This Element explores the sociocultural functions of anthologies in relation to discussions around exclusion/inclusion in the publishing industry. Focusing on YA anthologies, using a case study of A Change Is Gonna Come anthology (2017), this Element argues that the form and function of anthologies allows them to respond to and represent changing ideas of socially-marginalised identities. In A Change Is Gonna Come, this medium also affords Black and Brown authors a platform and community for introspection and the development of both individual and collective identities. Beyond merely introducing writings by socially-marginalised groups, this Element contends that YA anthologies embody a form of literary activism, fostering community-building and offering a means to circumvent obstacles prevalent in publishing.

1. Anthologising Anthologies
2. The development of YA anthologies
3. Be the Change [book].

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]