Children and adolescents frequently appear in Doris Lessing's fiction, specifically in her African short stories. However, Lessing did not write these stories with a child audience in mind; rather, she used child and adolescent characters to dissect African colonial society in the aftermath of the break-up of the British Empire (García Navarro, 2021). We invite contributions to a co-edited collection exploring what it means to be educated and to grow up as a child in Lessing's African stories, particularly in the context of 20th-century African society ruled by white European colonists. 

We welcome submissions that explore, examine and analyse how education is imagined, represented and experienced in Lessing's African short stories. While childhood and adolescence are often seen as times of security, familiarity, and fantasy, they can also be marked by trauma caused by abuse, violence, and various forms of inequality. This thematic focus challenges us to learn more about how formal, informal, and non-formal education shape childhood and adolescence, sense of belonging, and relationships with peers and adults in Lessing's African stories. With barely a quarter of the 21st century behind us, what does it mean to be educated, as a child, in Lessing's African short stories? What educational influences, limitations and possibilities do children encounter in her short fiction? What constitutes education in Lessing's short fiction? When we talk about an education on the border between colonial society and the signs of rupture (if any) from the break with the metropolis, what are educated children? Are children of white settlers and descendants of Black inhabitants limited by the space and time they inhabit? Do they share any values, and if so, which ones? How does Lessing choose to portray this? Who or what determines what it means to be a child or an adolescent in Lessing's portrayal of African colonial society? Has our conception of the education of children and adolescents changed as we observe how it is represented in Lessing's African stories? To what extent do the children in these stories convey critical views of their time or anticipate future societal relationships?
This edited collection welcomes proposals based on (but not limited to) the above guidelines.

Please include:

- Name(s) of the author(s), affiliation, email address and a 100-word bio

- Title and abstract (maximum 500 words)

- 4–6 keywords.

Accepted proposals will be expected to submit a full draft (6,000-7,000 words).

Please submit your proposals to mgn024@ual.es by 26th March.

The editors:

Carmen García-Navarro (University of Almería)

Manuel-José López-Martínez (University of Almería)