Amanda K. Allen

A photo of Amanda Allen

Professor

English Language and Literature

603G Pray-Harrold

[email protected]

Education

  • Ph.D., English Literature, University of Alberta
  • MA, English Literature, York University
  • BA (Honors), English Literature, York University

Interests and Expertise

Amanda K. Allen joined the Department of English Language and Literature in September, 2010. Her research focuses on:

  • mid-twentieth-century girls' novels
  • women's literary and employment history
  • the history of the children's publishing industry in America
  • print culture and book history
  • fandom studies
  • popular romance studies

Dr. Allen's current project is a book-length manuscript that examines the effects of the publishing, librarian and educational fields on the history of young adult literature and, more specifically, on teen girl romance novels published from 1942 to 1967 (known as the female junior novel genre). Allen uses a feminist cultural materialist approach, drawing on the theories of Pierre Bourdieu and Luce Irigaray, and using previously unpublished archival documents, to suggest a revised history of young adult fiction: one that explores the neglected female junior novel genre in relation to the rise and fall of a semi-autonomous network of female producers and distributors (editors, critics, librarians), and contrasted against the academics who ultimately defined "good" young adult fiction. By examining the female junior novel texts and network in relation to Cold War politics, federal initiatives in education and librarianship and the history of the children's publishing industry in America, she suggests a heretofore hidden battle regarding who has the right—and ability—to define our current concept of young adult fiction.

Courses

  • CHL 137: Harry Potter: Literary Allusion, Popular Culture, and Children's Literature
  • CHL 137/279: The Harry Potter Experience (a Study Abroad course in the UK)
  • CHL 207: Introduction to Children's Literature
  • CHL/WGST 353: Genders and Sexualities in Literature for Younger Readers
  • CHL 455: Adolescent Literature
  • CHL 516: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Children's Literature
  • CHL 518: History of Children's Literature
  • CHL 584: Literature for Adolescents
  • CHL 585: Children's Literature: Criticism and Theory
  • CHL 588: Mid-20th-Century Children's Literature
  • CHL 588: Oz as Icon
  • CHL 588: Graduate Studies in Harry Potter

Publications and Presentations

Recent Publications

2024. “Snanger Danger: SS/HG Fanfiction, Kinship, and an Affinity Space Model of Children’s and Young Adult Literature.” Alt Kid Lit: What Children’s Literature Might Be. Eds. Kenneth B. Kidd and Derritt Mason. University Press of Mississippi, 2024, pp. 65-78.

2024. "Ethics  and Historical Perspectives."The Routledge Companion to Children's Literature and Culture. Eds. Claudia Nelson, Elisabeth Wesseling, and Andrea Mei-Ying Wu. Routledge, 2024, pp. 33-44.

2023. “Ruling the Court: Reflections on Midcentury Junior Novel Romances.”Journal of Popular Romance Studies, vol. 12, 2023. 

2023. “Girls Who Persist and Resist: Resistance in Girlhood Studies and Girls’ Literature.”Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 52, no. 6, 2023, pp. 611-626. Co-written with Miranda A. Green-Barteet.

2023. “Girls Who Persist: Girls, Literature for Girls, and the Politics of Persistence.”Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 52, no. 5, 2023, pp. 475-489. Co-written with Miranda A. Green-Barteet.

2023. “Maureen Daly.” Children’s Literature Review, vol. 262. Ed. Carol A. Schwartz. Gale, 2023: pp. 51-120. 

2022. “’It’s not my fault I help girls realize they’re lesbians’: Compulsory Homosexuality as Communication in the Online Wentworth Fandom.” TV Transformations and Transgressive Women: From Prisoner: Cell Block H to Wentworth. Eds. Craig Batty, Tessa Dwyer, Radha O’Meara, Stayci Taylor. Peter Lang, 2022: pp. 363-392.

2022. "Betty Cavanna."Dictionary of Literary Biography 389: Young Adult Authors, First Series. Ed. Anne Hiebert Alton. Bruccoli Clark Layman, 2022: pp. 17-28.

2022. "Mary Stolz."Dictionary of Literary Biography 389: Young Adult Authors, First Series. Ed. Anne Hiebert Alton. Bruccoli Clark Layman, 2022: pp. 255-270.

2022. "Maureen Daly."Dictionary of Literary Biography 389: Young Adult Authors, First Series. Ed. Anne Hiebert Alton. Bruccoli Clark Layman, 2022: pp. 39-48.

2021. “The Hunger Games Game: Exploring Ideology through Game-Based Learning.” The Lion and the Unicorn, vol. 45, no. 3, 2021, pp. 313-319.

2020. "Young Adult Romance."Routledge Research Companion to Popular Romance Fiction. Eds. Eric Selinger, Jayashree Kamble, and Hsu-Ming Teo. Routledge, 2020, pp. 168-190.

2016. "'Dear Miss Daly': 1940s Fan Letters to Maureen Daly and the Age-Grading and Gendering of Seventeenth Summer."Children's Literature Association Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 1, Spring 2016, pp. 24–40.

*Awarded Children's Literature Association (ChLA) ARTICLE AWARD

2015. "Social Networking, Participatory Culture, and the Fandom World of Harry Potter."Medieval Afterlives in Contemporary Culture. Ed. Gail Ashton. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015, pp. 277–290.

2012. "Breathlessly Awaiting the Next Installment: Revealing the Complexity of Young Adult Literature."Children's Literature 40, 2012, pp. 260–269.

2012. "Charm the Boys, Win the Girls: Power Struggles in Mary Stolz's Cold War Adolescent Girl Romance Novels."Journal of Popular Romance Studies 3.1, 2012, online.

2009. "The Cinderella-Makers: Post-War Adolescent Girl Fiction as Commodity Tales."The Lion and the Unicorn 33.3, 2009, pp. 282–299.

 
Editorial Experience

Current: Guest editing special issue of The Journal of Popular Romance Studies (volume 14) dedicated to the intersection of young adult literature, series novels, and popular romance.

Current (started 2020): Section Editor (Young Adult Romance), The Journal of Popular Romance Studies

2023: Guest edited special double issue with Miranda A. Green-Barteet of Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal (volume 52, issues 5 and 6) on persistence and resistance in girlhood, girls' studies, and girls' literature.

 
Reviews

“Julie Pfeiffer. Transforming Girls: The Work of Nineteenth-Century Adolescence. U.P. of Mississippi, 2021.” International Journal of Young Adult Literature vol. 3, no. 1, 2022. DOI: 10.24877/ijyal.106.

"Michelle Abate. The Big Smallness: Niche Marketing, the American Culture Wars, and the New Children's Literature. New York: Routledge, 2016." The Lion and the Unicorn 41.2 (2017): 269–271.

 
Invited Plenary Presentations and Guest Lectures

“Where the Wild Things Were: The Children’s Literature Network (CLN) and the Hidden Community behind Midcentury Children’s Literature.” Care, Community, and Hope Conference 2024, Goldsmiths: University of London. 6 June 2024. (Plenary Presentation)

“Hidden in Plain Sight: The Queer Women’s Network that Transformed Mid-Twentieth-Century American Children’s Literature." Homerton College, University of Cambridge. 26 October 2023. (Guest Lecture)

"From Partners to Pages: The Queer Network of Women behind Twentieth-Century American Children's Literature." Newcastle University. 24 October 2023. (Guest Lecture)

"Gamification for Difficult Learning Subjects.” With Joe Sutliff Sanders. Columbia University and Jesus College, University of Cambridge. 8 March 2023. (Guest Lecture)

"Participatory Culture and the Online Harry Potter Fandom." Medieval Studies Program of Wilfred Laurier University. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. 6 November, 2014. (Guest Lecture)

 
Invited Podcasts

“Only Tingles Before Marriage: Junior Novels in Post-War America with Dr. Amanda K. Allen.” Shelf Love: Romantic Love Stories in Pop Culture, season 2, episode 125, host Andrea Martucci, July 22, 2022.

“Fan Studies with Amanda Allen.” Witch, Please, book 5, episode 4, hosts Hannah McGregor and Marcelle Kosman, December 7, 2021, WLU Press.

 
Recent Conference Presentations

"The Outsiders Only Started It if the Institution Needs The Outsiders to Have Started It: A Multiplicity Approach to YA Canon Formation." YASA 2024: YA Literature, Media, and Culture Today. Global Virtual. Nov. 4-8, 2024.

"Fanfiction, Kinship, and an Affinity Space Model of Children's and Young Adult Literature." Children's History Society Conference 2024: Children's Worlds through Time. Newcastle, UK: July 4-6, 2024.

"Anne Emery’s Letters: The Rise and Fall of the Mid-Twentieth-Century Junior Novel and Its All-Female Network of Editors and Librarians." Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) Annual Conference 2024. Reading, UK: July 1-5, 2024.

"‘Literary “Companions:’ The Queer Midcentury Children’s Literature Network.” Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) Annual Conference 2023. Global Virtual. June 26-30, 2023.

"Margaret Scoggin, the Nathan Straus Branch, and the International Youth Library: How YA Developed from Midcentury Teen Library Spaces." YASA 2022: Young Adult Studies Around the World Conference. Virtual. Oct. 31-Nov. 4, 2022.

“The Children’s Literature Network (CLN) and the Hidden Social Activism behind Mid-Century Children’s Literature." The Child and the Book Conference 2022. Valetta, Malta: May 26-28, 2022.

"The Didactic Command for Passivity in Betty Cavanna's Midcentury Junior Novel Romances." Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) Conference. Virtual. April 13-15, 2022.

“Special Friends”: The Queer Women’s Network behind Midcentury American Children’s Literature.” Children’s Literature Association (ChLA) Conference. Virtual. June 9-13, 2021.

"The Passivity of Persistence in Betty Cavanna's Postwar Junior Novels." Modern Language Association (MLA). Toronto, Ontario, Canada (held virtually): January 7-11, 2021.

"Ideology and the Hunger Games Game." Modern Language Association (MLA). Toronto, Ontario, Canada (held virtually): January 7-11, 2021.

"How Canonical Young Adult Literature Emerged from the Cold War Condemnation of Romance." International Association for the Study of Popular Romance Digital Forum: July 10-17, 2020.

"Letters from the Editor: Anne Emery’s Correspondence (1946-1975) and the Rise and Fall of the Junior Novel Genre." Children's Literature Association (ChLA) Conference. Indianapolis, Indiana: June 13-15, 2019.

“'Just like real life': How Fan Letters to Betty Cavanna Complicate the Emergence of Canonical Young Adult Literature." Youngsters 2. Association for Research in the Cultures of Young People, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: May 9-12, 2019.

“Romance Vs. Realism: How Critical Battles over Postwar Teen Romance Novels Led to the Emergence of Canonical Young Adult Literature.” Researching the Romance Conference. Bowling Green State University: April 13-14, 2018.

“I’m not interested in being polite or heterosexual”: Compulsory Homosexuality in the Online Wentworth Fandom. Wentworth Is the New Prisoner Conference. RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia: April 5-6, 2018.

“(972) It’s not my fault I help girls realize they’re lesbians”: Femslash, the Question of Compulsory Homosexuality, and the Online Wentworth Fandom. Popular Culture Association National Conference, Indianapolis: March 28-31, 2018.

"Lord knows, they teach them how to dress': Junior Novel Critics and the Struggle to Define 'Good' Postwar Novels for Girls." International Research Society for Children's Literature (IRSCL). Toronto, Ontario: 29 July–2 August, 2017.

"'Well, darling, you're a step up on Cinderella': Cold War American Junior Novels as Commodity Tales." All about Cinderella Conference. University of Bedfordshire, U.K.: 9–10 June, 2017.

"'This Girl Is Half His Age': Snape/Hermione Fanfiction and the Refusal of Reproductive Futurism." Children's Media and Literature in a a Mediatized World. Aarhus, Denmark: 30 May–1 June, 2017.

"Commodified Nostalgia and the Re-Animation of Cold War Junior Novels." Children's Literature Association (ChLA) Conference. Columbus, Ohio: 9–11 June, 2016.

"Forgotten Canon Wars: Postwar Junior Novel Critics and the Struggle to Define YA." Children's Literature Association (ChLA) Conference. Richmond, VA: 18–20 June, 2015.

"Severus Snape/Hermione Granger Fanfiction and the Marriage Law Challenge." Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association. New Orleans, 1–4 April, 2015.

"Rethinking Cold War Girls' Literature." Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA). Detroit, MI. 13–16 November, 2014.

"The Unexpected Readership and the Gendering of YA: 1940s Male Readers of Maureen Daly's Seventeenth Summer." Children's Literature Association (ChLA) Conference. Columbia, SC. 18–21 June, 2014.

"With Love from Priests and Pilots: WWII Fan Mail and the Gendering of Teen Romance Novels." Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) Conference. Chicago, IL. 16–19 April, 2014.

"School Skirt and Cashmere Sweater: Maturation through Consumerism in Early Cold War Adolescent Girl Romance Novels." Children's Literature Association (ChLA) Conference. University of Southern Mississippi. Biloxi, Ms. 13–15 June, 2013.

"Odious Products of a Merchandising Age': Dust Jacket Illustrations and the Marketing of Post-War Adolescent Girl Romance Novels." Popular Culture Association/ American Culture Association Conference. Washington, D.C. 27–30 March, 2013.

"Snanger Danger: Snape/Hermione (SS/HG) Fanfiction and the Queering of Children's Literature. Children's Literature Association (ChLA) Conference. Simmons College. Boston, Ma. 14–16 June, 2012.

"Adaptations, Revisions, and Fractures." Children's Literature Association (ChLA) Conference. Simmons College. Boston, Ma. 14–16 June, 2012.

"The Paratext of Pottermore: URLs and Structuring Harry Potter 'Moments.'" Society for Textual Scholarship: International Interdisciplinary Conference. University of Texas at Austin. Austin, Tx. 31 May–2 June, 2012 (Co-presented with Matt Schneider).

"Charm the Boys, Win the Girls: Power Struggles in Mary Stolz's Cold War Adolescent Girl Romance Novels"; International Association for the Study of Popular Romance. New York University. New York, N.Y. 26–28 June, 2011.

"Angie Versus the 'Secret Police System'; in Maureen Daly's Seventeenth Summer." Children's Literature Association (ChLA) Conference. Hollins University. Roanoke, Va. 23–25 June, 2011.

Advising

  • Advisor for Children's and Young Adult Literature majors, minors, and graduate students.

Selected Professional Service

Additional Information

Webpage: Homepage and Blog!

Twitter: @AmandaAllenPhD

Bluesky: @AmandaAllenPhD.bsky.social