A new epoch is here. As of 2012 Barnboken leaves the printed format and becomes a fully digital, open-access journal. Barnboken will continue to invite scholars to contribute with articles on two themes per annum, but unlike previous years these themes will not be concluded with the publication of a volume but kept alive on Barnboken's new website. We thereby wish to create a space for a continuous discussion on important topics within the children's literature research field. The themes of 2012 are Guilt and The works of Swedish writer Sven Wernström. Each year we intend to invite scholars to write articles on one general theme and one that focuses on an important Swedish authorship.
The two articles that form the starting point for this year's general theme Guilt are Maria Nikolajeva's contribution “Guilt, empathy and the ethical potential of children's literature”, where she shows how guilt is represented in Tabitha Suzuma's Forbidden and Philip Pullman's Northern Lights-trilogy, and Elizabeth Braithwaite's piece “‘The hope – the one hope – is that your generation will prove wiser and more responsible than mine.’ Constructions of guilt in a selection of disaster texts for young adults”, which focus on collective guilt, occasionally so-called “survivor-guilt”, books about the world after nuclear war or global ecological collapse. These articles are presented in more detail in the theme introduction.
Barnboken also welcomes articles on topics not tied to the annual themes. We start the year within this category with Lisa Schmidt och Johan Gardfors's article “Barnets varseblivning som en optik för att se världen” [Children's perception as an optics to see the world], about the children's poetry of Swedish poet Ann Jäderlund. Jäderlund is best known for her books for adult, boldly experimental poetry-collections. Her two books for children, Ivans bok [Ivan's book] and Iris bok [Iris's book] from 1987 to 2002 respectively, are less known. In the article it is shown how an intertextual as well as intergenerational reading of Jäderlund's books can be mutually rewarding. In other words, her children's books provide perspectives and dimensions that enrich her adult's books – and vice versa.
Barnboken will also continue to follow the research field of children's literature through reports and reviews of theoretical studies and doctoral theses.
Stockholm, Monday, April 16,Åsa Warnqvist (Managing Editor, 2012) and Björn Sundmark (Scientific Editor, 2012)