Call for Manuscripts

Submitting the Manuscript:

Manuscript submission guidelines are available on p. 2 of this issue and on our website at http://www.alan-ya.org/the-alan-review/. Note: The ALAN Review is adjusting its submission deadlines to allow more time for editing and production. The January 2010 deadline below represents a change from previous versions of this call. Beginning with the Fall 2010 issue, deadlines will be announced as follows: Fall issue, March 1; Winter issue, July 1; Summer issue, November 1.

Winter 2011 Theme: Looking for the Real Me: The Search for Self in Young Adult Literature

An oft-cited reason for including YAL in the middle and high school curriculum is that YAL is literature in which young adult readers can see themselves. The theme of this issue asks us to consider questions of identity and self in young adult literature. How does this YAL literature address or not address the young adult reader’s search for his or her own identity, for familiar issues and concerns, and for answers to questions about life and choices? How is young adult literature answering the call to be more inclusive? What role does YAL play in helping young adults shape and/or question their identities? Which novels, old and new, help young adults ask questions and challenge assumptions about their own identities? This theme is meant to be open to interpretation, and we welcome manuscripts addressing pedagogy as well as theoretical concerns. General submissions are also welcome. Submission deadline: July 1, 2010

Summer 2011 Theme: What Does YA Literature Look Like in Spaces Other than the Classroom?

Young adult literature continues to permeate spaces other than the classroom: in libraries, bookstores, movie theaters, and the Internet. Consider the popularity of texts such as the Twilight series, the Harry Potter series, and The Diary of a Wimpy Kid (examples of books that have gone viral with young adults), and think about how these books and others like them develop communities of readers outside of the classroom. The theme of this issue asks us to explore the ways in which young adult literature functions outside of the classroom. In what spaces, other than the classroom, do you use young adult literature? What have you learned from book groups, especially those involving adults, that read young adult literature? How has cyberspace influenced the way you discuss young adult literature? In what way or ways does young adult literature become part of a young adult’s life outside of school? This theme is meant to be open to interpretation, and we welcome manuscripts addressing pedagogy as well as theoretical concerns. General submissions are also welcome. Submission deadline: November 1, 2010.

New Section

Got a story about young adult literature you’d like to share? We are starting a new section featuring brief vignettes (no more than 300 words) from practicing teachers and librarians who would like to share their interactions with students, parents, colleagues, and administrators around YA literature.