A
Journal of African Children's and Young Adult Literature A
Journal of African Children's and Young Adult Literature
The inaugural issue of Sankofa: A Journal of African Children’s and Young Adult Literature The inaugural issue of Sankofa was officially released at the African Studies Association conference in Washington, DC on December 7, in conjunction with the 2002 Children's Africana Book Awards ceremony.
. To be published annually, Sankofa is edited by Meena G. Khorana, professor
of English and adolescent literature and past editor-in-chief of Bookbird: A
Journal of International Children’s Literature, with Brenda Randolph,
director of Africa Access, as assistant editor for the Children’s Africana
Book Awards.
Sankofa is a peer-reviewed journal aimed at a diverse audience of teachers,
students, librarians, researchers, writers, illustrators, editors, and publishers.
The name of the journal is taken from an Akan word meaning “looking back.”
Sankofa’s primary objective is to disseminate information on African children’s and young adult literature; recognize common inaccuracies, stereotypes, and biases in books set in Africa; provide readers with in-depth book reviews and scholarly articles on emerging trends in African and African diaspora literatures; and stimulate a global conversation on the comparative patterns in the representation of children in literature.
Sankofa’s three major sections offer a variety of perspectives on African children’s and young adult literature.
* The African Scene features critical and analytical essays on established and new authors and illustrators, trends and developments in book production for children in Africa, and reviews of outstanding books.
* The Literatures of the Diaspora focuses on children’s and young adult books of the African diaspora.
* The Children’s Africana Book Awards section provides reviews of all the books submitted for the award each year, essays on the winners, and an analysis of publishing trends. Established in 1991 by the African Studies Association, the annual Children’s Africana Book Awards encourage the publication and use of accurate and balanced children’s materials on Africa in the United States.
Please submit articles (in English, between 3,000 and 5,000 words) and subscription
forms to Dr. Meena Khorana, 202-E Holmes Hall, Morgan State University, 1700
E. Cold Spring Road, Baltimore, MD 21251 USA; email: meenakh@aol.com
Sankofa is housed in the Department of English and Language Arts at Morgan State University, Baltimore (see http://www.morgan.edu/english).