Abstract:
Ten years after Betsie van der Westhuizen’s (1999) argumentation, this article attempts
to take stock of the state and place of Afrikaans children’s and juvenile books in the
Afrikaans literary system. By making use of analyses of production profi les, selected
published texts in scientifi c journals and the broad media, interviews with role players
and histories of publishers, the interaction between the broader Afrikaans literary system
– which includes authors, illustrators, publishers, media, reviewers, literary histories,
academics, readers and other role players – and the subsystem of children’s and juvenile
literature is investigated synoptically here.
The following factors are identifi ed as themes for discussion: (i) restructuring of publishing
companies involved in Afrikaans children’s and juvenile books after 1994; (ii) markets
for Afrikaans children’s and juvenile books; (iii) visibility of Afrikaans children’s and
juvenile books in the broader media; (iv) academic foundation of the genre of Afrikaans
children’s and juvenile books; and (v) development of local authors and illustrators.
