Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
This paper discusses changes to the cover art of young adult literature in the last twenty-five years, and how those changes have affected the success of YA novels and society’s perceptions of YA literature. These changes lead to the genderization of novels as well as misrepresentation of a novel’s content. This is particularly a problem among books by female authors. Genderization has a major impact on the type and gender of audience a book attracts, and it often limits, rather than expands, the type of readers attracted. Furthermore, the books that receive the highest awards, including the Michael L. Printz Award and the Newberry Honor Award almost always possess genderless covers. It would appear that genderization of cover art plays a role, even if it’s a small one, in how valuable society deems YA novels, and whether or not the content of those novels can be considered “literary.”
Copyright and Licensing of My Content
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Origin of Submission
as part of a class
Faculty Involvement
Jon Ostenson
Location
B103 JFSB
Start Date
17-3-2016 9:45 AM
End Date
17-3-2016 10:45 AM
Included in
YA Cover Art: Changes and Social Impact in the Last Twenty-Five Years
B103 JFSB
This paper discusses changes to the cover art of young adult literature in the last twenty-five years, and how those changes have affected the success of YA novels and society’s perceptions of YA literature. These changes lead to the genderization of novels as well as misrepresentation of a novel’s content. This is particularly a problem among books by female authors. Genderization has a major impact on the type and gender of audience a book attracts, and it often limits, rather than expands, the type of readers attracted. Furthermore, the books that receive the highest awards, including the Michael L. Printz Award and the Newberry Honor Award almost always possess genderless covers. It would appear that genderization of cover art plays a role, even if it’s a small one, in how valuable society deems YA novels, and whether or not the content of those novels can be considered “literary.”