CFP: Young Adult + Series + Romance (proposal deadline December 1)

2023 marks the fortieth anniversary of the initial publication of Sweet Valley High. While Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield may rank amongst the best-known teen romance heroines, the texts themselves exist within a much larger pantheon of series books intended for or read by teens, and featuring romance narratives. The Journal of Popular Romance Studies (JPRS) seeks articles for a special issue devoted to young adult series romance. These articles may focus on YA series romance from any historical period or language context, and may derive from any relevant discipline, including interdisciplinary approaches.Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:· the relationship between young adult literature, series novels, and popular romance· ideology within YA series romance· literary precursors to YA series romance· midcentury series romances aimed at teens· 80s and 90s teen romance series, such as Wildfire, Young Love, First Love, or Sweet Dreams series· legacies of Sweet Valley High or other YA series romance in current YA romance· positive or problematic representations of identity (including race, gender, sexuality, and disability) within YA series romance· YA series romance in global perspective· sex (or potentially the lack of sex) in YA romance series· ghostwriters and/or corporate constructions of teen romance series· teen responses to YA romance series· YA romance series within fanworks and fandom· teacher or librarian reaction to and/or use of YA romance series· pedagogical approaches to using YA romance series within the classroom (at any level)Please send proposals of no more than 500 words, as well as a short bio, to Amanda K. Allen, YA Section Editor, at aallen36@emich.edu. The deadline for proposals is December 1, 2023.If chosen, final articles should be no more than 10,000 words, including notes and bibliography, and will be due June 1, 2024. Please note that all research articles submitted to this special issue of JPRS will undergo peer review via a double blind, pre-publication peer review policy. Researchers also have the option to participate in our open peer review pilot, should they be interested in a review process in which author and reviewer identity is known to all participants at all stages of peer review. All editorial policies are available on the JPRS site: www.jprstudies.org.About JPRS: The Journal of Popular Romance Studies (JPRS) is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal publishing concise and well-written contributions to the study of popular romance media (e.g., love songs; romantic fiction and chick-lit; romance in film and TV, in comics and graphic novels, in memoir and life-writing, in fanfic and other forms of transformative culture,etc.). We also publish articles on the logics, institutions, and social practices of romantic love in global popular culture.For more information about this special issue, or about publishing other research in JPRS related to any aspect of young adult romance, please contact Amanda K. Allen at aallen36@emich.edu.