From the international circulation to the globalization of editorial standards

This paper analyses the strategies adopted by French and Spanish publishers since the 1970s, on a national and international scale, to conquer a frontier audience: “teenagers”. It explains the gradual shift, within this specific market, from a regime of international circulation of titles to one of internationalization and then globalization of editorial standards. The article also examines the impact of these changes on publishers’ strategies and the constraints that weigh on their production. It explores the emergence of the globalized “young adult-crossover” editorial formula, which emerged in the late 1990s around the Harry Potter phenomenon. To this end, it draws mainly on the serial analysis of the catalogues of French and Spanish publishers targeting teen readers, and on an exhaustive survey of the specialized press.