Juvenilia

This article is about the literary term. For other uses, see Juvenilia (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Juvenalia.

Juvenilia is a term applied to literary, musical or artistic works produced by an author during his or her youth. The term often has a retrospective sense. For example, written juvenilia, if published at all, usually appear some time after the author has become well-known for later works.

The term was first recorded in 1622 in George Wither's poetry collection Ivvenilia. Later, other notable poets, such as John Dryden and Alfred Lord Tennyson came to use the term for collections of their early poetry. Jane Austen's earlier literary works are also known by the name of Juvenilia.

An exception to retrospective publication is Leigh Hunt's collection Juvenilia, first published when he was still in his teens.