Disrupting aetonormativity: involving children in the writing of literature for publication

Literary criticism of children’s literature asserts a one-directional view of power, with the adult writer constructing the child reader. Using ‘aetonormativity’– adult perceptions of normal patterning children’s literature – this paper explores what happens to aetonormativity when children co-construct publishable fiction (Nikolajeva 2010). We analyse drama and creative writing workshops run with 8 to 11-year-old children by Story Makers Press, a University-based publishing company representing marginalised children’s voices by involving them in writing processes. Our analysis shows how whilst we were interested in developing the story of the protagonist, the children drew upon their “funds of knowledge” (Moll 1992) to develop a gaming narrative. The effect was twofold: we constructed a “hybrid” text (Bakhtin 1986) which, unlike GameLit, explores the relationship between the protagonist and gaming; and a discourse counter to negative adult portrayals of gaming. As the children became invested in the fiction, they became effective editors and revisions were taken on board by the editorial team. The paper concludes that involving children in writing children’s literature can result in texts which disrupt aetonormativity by representing lived experiences. The paper also acknowledges that that further research is needed into how other children read and respond to texts co-constructed with children.