Helen Young – Mythopoeic Prize Shortlist

Congratulations to staff member Helen Young, whose book Race and Popular Fantasy Literature: Habits of Whiteness (Routledge) has been shortlisted for the 2019 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies.

The award is given to scholarly books on authors writing in the tradition of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, or to more general works on the genres of myth and fantasy. The winners will be announced during Mythcon 50, to be held in early August 2019 in San Diego.

Helen’s book illuminates the racialised nature of twenty-first century Western popular culture by exploring how discourses of race circulate in the Fantasy genre. It examines not only major texts in the genre, but also the impact of franchises, industry, editorial and authorial practices, and fan engagements on race and representation. Approaching fantasy as a significant element of popular culture, the book visits the struggles over race, racism, and white privilege that are enacted within creative works across media and the communities which revolve around them. 

 

*Featured image by Cederic X on Unsplash