Transgression of Boundaries Between Audiences and Genres

Crossover literature, characterized by the transgression of conventional boundaries between children’s, juvenile, and adult literature, has emerged as both a significant field of study and a prominent editorial phenomenon. Works that traverse different age groups, often without undergoing significant adaptations, challenge rigid genre classifications and broaden the understanding of literary reception dynamics.
Sandra Beckett, in De grands romanciers écrivent pour les enfants (Great Novelists Write for Children, 1997), examines how authors primarily known for their adult-oriented works began publishing books for young readers in the post-World War II period. This editorial movement, particularly strong in France and spearheaded by publishers such as Gallimard, not only aimed to foster a love of reading in children but also dismantled the barriers between adult and children’s literature. These efforts resulted in aesthetically rich works that defied traditional boundaries of genre and audience. Beckett’s three proposed categories—original children’s works by acclaimed authors, children’s adaptations of adult novels, and dual-audience works—highlight the complexity of what she later conceptualized as crossover literature, a phenomenon that extends to diverse global contexts and literary genres.
This dossier aims to gather contributions that explore the phenomenon of crossover literature in its various dimensions and contexts, including articles, reviews, and interviews that reflect on the transgression of age, stylistic, and market boundaries, as well as the circulation of works across distinct audiences. Submissions may include theoretical reflections, literary analyses, interdisciplinary approaches, and investigations into the cultural and educational impact of this literature.