Who Writes for Youth? A Second Look at the Social Structure of American Authors for Youth

Abstract

Presents an investigation of contemporary American authors who write for youth. The methodology derives from Laurenson’s study of the sociology of British authors. The study is based on the biographical and sociological data of the randomly selected 220 of 786 (27%) authors identified as first authors from American Library Association selected lists. Whites, women, and writers from the Northeast United States and West Coast dominate the field. Authors tend to be educated at high prestige colleges and universities and follow careers as writers, teachers, and fields in communications. Male and minority writers have increased in recent decades along with newer forms of artistic production.