Roundtable: Young Adult Women’s Literature and Boundary Blurring (Deadline

January 15, 2015)

Call for Papers for SSAWW Conference November 4-8, 2015, Philadelphia

This roundtable, Young Adult Women’s Literature and Boundary Blurring, explores how

teen or YA literature by American women writers occupies liminal spaces and blurs

boundaries. Like the teen, YA literature exists in a state of flux. It is often relegated to a

space between “lowbrow” and “highbrow” literature, it has a multi-aged readership

though designated for teens, and it is considered a relatively new genre despite actually

existing for centuries.

Panelists are invited to explore these and any other related topics:

 crossover writers – authors who blur the boundary between academic/popular

and adult/teen, such as Joyce Carol Oates

 hybrid audiences – the appeal of teen fiction, such as The Hunger Games, to not-
so-young adults

 historical context– the contemporary explosion of the YA market; re-
conceptualizing genres of women’s writing that pre-date the 1890s (when the

concept of adolescence emerged)

 practical pedagogy – experiences teaching YA women’s literature in the college

classroom

 current debates – who should read YA fiction; sexism and elitism among YA

critics

Please email proposals to Lisa Koch, LKoch@gmu.edu by January 15, 2015. Include the

following information:

 Name and affiliation (if any)

 Title of presentation

 Abstract (150-250 words)

 Brief biography (60 word limit)

 Email contact