The Saga of Saga: the Editorial Practices of a Children´s Book Publisher

The aim of the research project is to shed light on the editorial strategies and practices that enabled the publishing house Svensk Läraretidnings förlag [the Swedish Teachers’ Magazine’s publishing house] to successfully gain and maintain a dominating and influential position in children’s book publishing in Sweden over a 70-year period, for example via the extensive book series Barnbiblioteket Saga [the Children´s Library Saga].

The goal of the project is to establish a better understanding of the mechanisms, the agents (authors, editors, translators, in-house reviewers), and the literary/educational infra­structure that have shaped children’s publishing, reading practices, and canon formation in Sweden.

Hence, the research is relevant and important both in filling a research gap, in developing methodology and theory, and for its societal implications.

To achieve this goal, the project will explore the publisher´s extensive and unique Saga archive, housed in the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books, which shows how the children’s book market and publishing worked in Sweden at the time and ultimately helps explain what can be called “the democratization of reading” during the 20th century in Sweden.

The research team consists of four senior scholars.

The research will be carried out over four years and center on three different themes, and a total of six research articles:Reading promotion and democratizationSaga and literary recyclingEditorial relationships