The YA Studies Association (YASA) is an international organisation existing to increase the knowledge of, and research on, young adult (YA) literature, media, and related fields and to encourage the cooperation of specialists, institutions, organisations, and individuals engaging with YA whether through research, teaching, or practice. We welcome scholars and practitioners at all stages and career levels and of any race, ethnicity, religion, class, ability, gender, sex, sexuality, and size.

Originally known as the Young Adult Literature, Media, and Culture Network, YASA formally launched itself as an international association in the summer of 2020. Its primary aims are to foster an international community of scholars and teachers who are interested in YA literature and media and to promote rigorous engagement with YA literature and media that recognizes its complexity, diversity, and expansiveness.

As an international association, YASA offers a range of resources and yearly programming to researchers and teachers worldwide. For example, YASA provides an up-to-date list of relevant journals and publications to help scholars find relevant research sources or the right articles for their classrooms. YASA also offers a YA Critical Theory Database of relevant monographs and edited collections that increasingly shape the field of YA scholarship. 

Beyond these resources, YASA fosters collaboration within the YA scholarly community by hosting several virtual events throughout the year. The Theory Reading Group is a wonderful example of this kind of community-building, as the group meets every second Thursday of the month to discuss a specific article or book of YA scholarship. The Theory Reading Group is a great place to network with other scholars from across the globe, make new friends over shared scholarly interests, and stay informed on the latest YA literature and media research.

For those looking to present their work to the YA scholarly community, YASA offers two avenues: the YASA Seminar Series and YASA’s biannual academic conference. The Seminar Series, which occurs at various points throughout a given year, allows scholars and educators to present their work in more depth than traditional conference panels, as each Seminar Series panel centres on the work of two presenters. The biannual YASA conference, however, reflects a more traditional conference structure with some notable caveats: it is entirely virtual and occurs over an entire week to account for the various time zones and of YASA’s truly international community.           

This year’s Executive Board includes members from around the globe, and we cannot wait to share further updates on behalf of YASA in the coming months. Details about our 2024 conference will be shared soon, and if you have any questions, please feel free to email us at YAStudiesAssociation@gmail.com or follow us on social media at @YAstudiesAssoc! We hope to see you in the YASA community soon!

YASA President,
Jeremy Johnston
Illinois State University 

Dr Jeremy Johnson conducts interdisciplinary research at the junction of Children’s and YA Literature, Economic Humanities, and Gender Studies, examining how neoliberal capitalism informs literary adolescence in particularly in gendered ways. His forthcoming monograph Productive Citizenship: Neoliberal Capitalism and the Young Adult Novel is set for publication with the University Press of Mississippi. Productive Citizenship argues that the shifting economic conditions within the U.S. since the mid-twentieth century – for instance, the development of neoliberal policies through the 1970s and 1980s – correspond to the emergence and proliferation of YA fiction as a literary field, its prevalent themes, and narrative tropes. Jeremy is also a member of the Children’s Literature Association and, specifically, a co-chair of its Membership Committee.

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GLLI’s 2024 International YA Literature Month has been curated by Dr Emily Corbett. She is a lecturer in children’s and young adult literature at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she leads the MA Children’s Literature: Theoretical Approaches to Children’s and Young Adult Literature programme. Her research focuses on the growth and development of YA from literary, publishing, and cultural perspectives. She is also General Editor of The International Journal of Young Adult Literature and was founding Vice President of the YA Studies Association. Her monograph, In Transition: Young Adult Literature and Transgender Representation (2024), is forthcoming with the University Press of Mississippi in June. You can find her contact details on her institutional website and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram via @DrEmilyCorbett.

Opinions expressed in posts on this site are the individual author’s and are not indicative of the views of Global Literature in Libraries Initiative.