Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Crossover på bokmarknaden

Bjelkenäs, Klara LU and Winberg von Friesen, Anna (2013) FBMK11 20131
Division of Publishing Studies
Abstract
In Sweden and abroad, crossover literature (meaning children's books that are read and appreciated by adults as well) has been one of the more noticeable publishing trends of the new millennium. The aim of this thesis is to examine how Swedish publishing houses are working with crossover fiction, both with the genre as a whole and with individual novels. The method is an analysis of the packaging of a few select crossover books, their publishing houses and interviews with people from the book industry. In order to analyse packaging we have chosen literary theorist Gérard Genette’s ideas about paratext, and Publishing Studies professor Claire Squires use of the concept. Squires examines how marketing, where paratext is a notable part,... (More)
In Sweden and abroad, crossover literature (meaning children's books that are read and appreciated by adults as well) has been one of the more noticeable publishing trends of the new millennium. The aim of this thesis is to examine how Swedish publishing houses are working with crossover fiction, both with the genre as a whole and with individual novels. The method is an analysis of the packaging of a few select crossover books, their publishing houses and interviews with people from the book industry. In order to analyse packaging we have chosen literary theorist Gérard Genette’s ideas about paratext, and Publishing Studies professor Claire Squires use of the concept. Squires examines how marketing, where paratext is a notable part, contributes in defining what genre is in the literary marketplace.
The results of our study show that publishers working with crossover literature face many obstacles. Problems include the lack of a generally agreed upon definition of and the unpreparedness of the Swedish book industry when handling books with a dual audience. There is simply no category for works found in between children’s and adult literature, a problem that could be solved by focusing on genre instead of age. Regarding packaging, there is no obvious way to design and market crossover books. But our study shows a frequent emphasis on emotion in copy texts, blurbs, titles and also in the often graphic cover, which seems to be what both teenagers and adults respond to. This also applies to the general view of crossover literature as a genre of feeling as expressed by publishers, readers, critics and authors. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Bjelkenäs, Klara LU and Winberg von Friesen, Anna
supervisor
organization
alternative title
En studie av hur svenska förlag utformar och arbetar med crossoverlitteratur
course
FBMK11 20131
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Crossover, ungdomslitteratur, young adult, genre, förlag, förlagsprofilering, paratext, marknadsföring, bokmarknad, bokdesign, bokomslag
language
Swedish
id
3920683
date added to LUP
2013-08-12 16:28:58
date last changed
2014-05-16 15:36:08
@misc{3920683,
  abstract     = {{In Sweden and abroad, crossover literature (meaning children's books that are read and appreciated by adults as well) has been one of the more noticeable publishing trends of the new millennium. The aim of this thesis is to examine how Swedish publishing houses are working with crossover fiction, both with the genre as a whole and with individual novels. The method is an analysis of the packaging of a few select crossover books, their publishing houses and interviews with people from the book industry. In order to analyse packaging we have chosen literary theorist Gérard Genette’s ideas about paratext, and Publishing Studies professor Claire Squires use of the concept. Squires examines how marketing, where paratext is a notable part, contributes in defining what genre is in the literary marketplace.
The results of our study show that publishers working with crossover literature face many obstacles. Problems include the lack of a generally agreed upon definition of and the unpreparedness of the Swedish book industry when handling books with a dual audience. There is simply no category for works found in between children’s and adult literature, a problem that could be solved by focusing on genre instead of age. Regarding packaging, there is no obvious way to design and market crossover books. But our study shows a frequent emphasis on emotion in copy texts, blurbs, titles and also in the often graphic cover, which seems to be what both teenagers and adults respond to. This also applies to the general view of crossover literature as a genre of feeling as expressed by publishers, readers, critics and authors.}},
  author       = {{Bjelkenäs, Klara and Winberg von Friesen, Anna}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Crossover på bokmarknaden}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}