We are only considering original work. However, you can certainly build on a previously published work by using similar onomastic frameworks and/or analytic tools to investigate different literary works OR by investigating the same literary works from a different onomastic perspective. 

No! This is a bona fide academic work. Authors are not expected to pay to have their chapters published.  All proposals received will pass through a double-blind peer-review process, and the best proposals will be invited to submit a full chapter for consideration of publication.

For the purposes of this collection, we draw on the Children's Literature Association's (ChLA) conception of youth  literature as “books, films, and other media created for, or adopted by, children and young adults around the world, past, present, and future" (https://www.childlitassn.org).  

Defining boundaries separating childhood, adolescence, and adulthood is more difficult. We chose to include both the terms young adulthood, often associated with older high school students, and early adulthood, which could include college-age students and even beyond. 

We also recognize that such media typically are created, published, distributed, and purchased by adults. What young readers -- and not-so-young readers, for that matter -- actually read may vary widely and may not strictly adhere to age brackets or to standardized reading levels.

Submitted abstracts should include some kind of justification for investigating works that are on the border. Publishers' listings often include descriptors that indicate a target audience, and the Young Adult Library Services Association compiles a list of awards recognizing excellence in various categories of YA literature. One of those awards, the Alex Award, is given for books "written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18," which recognizes that much depends on the individual reader.

Anne W. Anderson earned a B.A. in Creative Writing (Eckerd College), an M.A. in Journalism (U. Alabama), and a Ph.D. in Literacy Studies/Education (U. South Florida) as well as a Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research Methods. Her research areas include critical studies of children's and young adult literature (all media) and developing methods of multi-modal document analysis. She is Allied Conference Coordinator for the American Name Society and an independent researcher/scholar.

Call for Book Chapter Proposals

Chosen, Bestowed, Acquired, Assigned: Names and Naming in Youth Literature

Edited by I. M. Nick and Anne W. Anderson

Just as names are among the first and most basic means by which we order and make sense of our world, so too do names in works of literature help readers order and make sense of created worlds. Moreover, names in literature often connote more than they denote. This edited collection will consider how names, depictions of naming practices, and explorations of name theory in youth literature can enrich our understanding of created worlds and, by implication, of our real world. For the purposes of this collection, we draw on the Children’s Literature Association’s conception of literature as “books, films, and other media created for, or adopted by, children and young adults around the world, past, present, and future" (https://www.childlitassn.org).

Chapters proposed for this volume might address names, naming, and name theory in youth literature of any media and/or modality, from any perspective, and using the analytical tools of any discipline. From the names of places, people, animals, and plants to the monikers of fairies and goblins, cyborgs and droids, any type of name from any time period or from any language is welcome. Please see the American Name Society’s glossary of naming terminology (https://www.americannamesociety.org/names/). The primary works examined may be fiction or non-fiction. The only subject-matter stipulation for submission is that the primary intended reading audience of the piece(s) of literature investigated must be youth (i.e., children, adolescents, and/or early adults).

The following is a partial list of possible topics, but we also welcome being surprised by other pertinent suggestions.

• • • Names as chosen, bestowed, acquired, assigned, or self-selected

    • Naming practices, rites, rituals, and regulations and their implications

    • Literary devices or linguistic mechanisms used in creating names and their implications

    • Questions of unnaming and renaming of people, places, and things

    • Questions of names and identity, self-hood, and socio-cultural connection

    • Names as constructions of normal vs. abnormal, good vs. evil, acceptable vs. anathema

    • Theoretical frameworks for analyzing names in youth literature and media

    • Challenges and strategies for translating names

    • Names of the non-human, inhuman, mechanical, and systemic and their implications

    • Names in galaxies far, far away and in subatomic systems

    • Names as markers of political, ideological, historical controversies

    • Nonsensical names and/or memetic names and their implications

Proposal Submission Process

• Abstract proposals (max. 500 words, excluding the title and references) should be sent as a PDF email attachment to Dr. Anne W. Anderson (YouthLit2023@gmail.com).

• For organizational purposes, the proposals must include “YOUTHLIT2023” in the subject line of the email.

• All proposals must include an abstract, a title, and a preliminary list of references.

• The full name(s) of the author(s) and the author(’s’) affiliation(s) must appear in the body of the email. These details should NOT appear in the attached proposal.

• In the case of multi-authored submissions, one person must be clearly identified as the primary contact.

• The DEADLINE for proposal submissions is July 15, 2023. NOTE: We have extended the deadline to August 1, 2023. All proposals will be submitted to a double-blind review process. Authors will be notified about acceptance on or before September 15, 2023.

• Final chapters (max. 7,000 words, excluding abstracts and references) will be due March 15, 2024.

For further information about this call, please feel free to contact Dr. Anne W. Anderson (YouthLit2023@gmail.com). We look forward to receiving your proposals!