"Haai, Jaco Jacobs! Wanneer skryf jy 'n regte boek?" 'n Bestekopname van Afrikaanse kinder- en jeugboeke (1999-2009)

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.