“Children’s Literature” (Photo by Shambhavi Karapurkar, CC-BY-4.0)

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

• 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. 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!