- Rencontres européennes de la littérature pour la jeunesse. Actes du colloque organisé à la Bibliothèque Nationale de France les 27 et 28 novembre 2008
This tome features the proceedings of a notable conference organized by the National Library of France (Bibliothèque Nationale de France) in November 2008 that united many European experts and players from the world of book production, from authors to librarians.
The conference theme was the development of children’s and young adult literature in Europe. The various contributions gravitated around the following questions: How does European children’s literature contribute to fostering regional, national, and/or European identities? When, and under which circumstances, can seminal figures of national literatures be transported to other European contexts? What is the role of translators? Which images of Europe and Europeans do different national nonfiction books project? How does children’s literature develop in individual European countries or regions (e.g. Eastern Europe)? How did past European initiatives, such as binational book awards, play out, and what can be learned from these experiences?
Many contributors regret that guidelines for common European publishing policies are missing in the domain of children’s literature. Others maintain that Europe’s wealth resides precisely in this diversity. It is still too early to assess the pros and cons of unification and diversity; current comparative data and studies, which would allow for reliable analysis and common projects, are still lacking. Overall, however, the conference at the National Library offered inspiring examples of a multitude of possible common research projects and other kinds of collaboration.