Judging a book by its cover: Examining reader reception of peritexts in Queer Young Adult literature

The rise of LGBTQIA+ and queer young adult (YA) literature has led to an increased diversity in the range of texts available for young readers. The covers of these texts use various design elements to market to their target audiences, employing signifiers to indicate a narrative’s queer themes that range from subtle coding to explicit representation. This article presents findings from a qualitative research study at a regional university in Australia, which explored reader responses to peritexts used by queer YA books in a context where book bans that target marginalised identities, including queer identities, are increasing around the world. Queer-identified research participants aged 18-30 engaged in focus groups, discussing and analysing pre-selected queer YA texts over the course of eight months. Participants had a range of responses to the peritexts, including finding that signifiers of queer themes were affirming to their own identities and could be indicators of allyship in public spaces. Participants also discussed the potential risks associated with publicly consuming a book explicitly presented as queer through its peritext, emphasising concerns around vulnerability, exposure, and a lack of safety. This article uses a theoretical framework of critical social theory and queer theory to shed light on the relationship between peritext and reader response in queer YA literature, providing insights into how these elements contribute to readers’ understanding and engagement with queer narratives, and the potential value of peritext for queer and non-queer audiences.