Young adult authors writing for grown-ups, why we shouldn't shy away from scary stories for our kids, and the glorious new rom-com that pulled my out of my reading slump.
I've noticed the same with YA. I was a judge for the Prime Minister's Lit Awards this year in the children's category, and in comparison the YA category only had around a quarter of the number of submissions in the children's. Makes sense in some ways because children's encompasses picture books and middle grade and everything in between, but I was still very surprised at the small number of YA. In saying that, some of my fave reads this year have been YA: IMMORTAL DARK by Tigest Girma, RETURN TO SENDER by Lauren Draper and WHAT'S MURDER BETWEEN FRIENDS by Meg Gatland-Veness.
Interesting! And sad! I really hope this is just a temporary trend. Thank you for sharing some of your fave reads, I will track them down! I have been looking forward to the new Lauren Draper.
This was a great read and I admit I’ve been worried about YA for a while, particularly in the local contemporary space. I’ve had my own little YA book sitting on my computer waiting for a redraft for such a long time, but I admit I’ve turned my focus to picture books because it always seems like teens aren’t reading simple contemporary stories anymore and I just don’t know where mine will fit.
Thank you for your comment, Jodie, and I hope you are well. Quiet contemporary stories are my absolute favourites, so I really hope to see your novel out in the world someday!
Interesting article, Karys! Far too much gatekeeping in publishing generally, I think - at least, that's how it feels to me over here in the UK. I don't know the YA market here well, but I speak to many fellow authors/illustrators who wish for 'darker' books to be acquired...
That's very interesting! I think it is the gatekeepers who push for YA to be lighter/more conservative, for sure. The kids I work with love darker stories. I was surprised during the COVID years that adults were reaching for more light-hearted stories, and the kids seemed to only want dystopia/horror/etc. Maybe they're less into escapism and more into understanding the world (and themselves) through literature!
Thank you so much for your comment, and for reading my post.
It is something I had noticed as a reader too this year. I haven't had as many Australia YA novels come across my TBR pile. I when I checked my storygraph account I had read 21 OZ YA this year and I only read 23 in totoal last year so maybe it is not as bad as I thought. As a mother of two teens and a TL I find myself thinking constantly about what I/we can do to better promote Australian YA. One thing I'm thinking I need to do is actually make the effort as a family to buy the books, not just use the library. But overall I'm find it very hard to reach and engage teens in books. One thing I'm considering is offering "rewards" for book reviews in the library and maybe having a school book review social media account. I think I probably need to also search for OZYA reviewers, I find it much harder to find people reviewing OZYA compared to OZ picture books and younger reader chapter books. Thank you for thought provoking post, I will keep thinking about this.
I love the idea of offering rewards for reviews, and starting a social media account for them! I ran a book review competition at a previous school for Children's Book Week and had pretty good uptake for it. Our library catalogue allowed kids to add their own reviews which was really helpful. Peer recommendations are always better than ones from adults!
And yes, huge fan of Liar's Test. I'll have to add it to a future newsletter. Thank you for the reminder. 21 Australian YA books is a great effort!
Thank you for reading and commenting as always! Take care.
I've noticed the same with YA. I was a judge for the Prime Minister's Lit Awards this year in the children's category, and in comparison the YA category only had around a quarter of the number of submissions in the children's. Makes sense in some ways because children's encompasses picture books and middle grade and everything in between, but I was still very surprised at the small number of YA. In saying that, some of my fave reads this year have been YA: IMMORTAL DARK by Tigest Girma, RETURN TO SENDER by Lauren Draper and WHAT'S MURDER BETWEEN FRIENDS by Meg Gatland-Veness.
Interesting! And sad! I really hope this is just a temporary trend. Thank you for sharing some of your fave reads, I will track them down! I have been looking forward to the new Lauren Draper.
Me too! I love reading YA. I hope you enjoy Lauren's latest – it's full of friendships and mystery and heart <3
This was a great read and I admit I’ve been worried about YA for a while, particularly in the local contemporary space. I’ve had my own little YA book sitting on my computer waiting for a redraft for such a long time, but I admit I’ve turned my focus to picture books because it always seems like teens aren’t reading simple contemporary stories anymore and I just don’t know where mine will fit.
Thank you for your comment, Jodie, and I hope you are well. Quiet contemporary stories are my absolute favourites, so I really hope to see your novel out in the world someday!
Interesting article, Karys! Far too much gatekeeping in publishing generally, I think - at least, that's how it feels to me over here in the UK. I don't know the YA market here well, but I speak to many fellow authors/illustrators who wish for 'darker' books to be acquired...
That's very interesting! I think it is the gatekeepers who push for YA to be lighter/more conservative, for sure. The kids I work with love darker stories. I was surprised during the COVID years that adults were reaching for more light-hearted stories, and the kids seemed to only want dystopia/horror/etc. Maybe they're less into escapism and more into understanding the world (and themselves) through literature!
Thank you so much for your comment, and for reading my post.
That could be it!
Thanks for sharing Allison R's YKNR post! We've also noticed a drop in the number of LoveOzYA titles coming our way for podcast bookmail.
It is something I had noticed as a reader too this year. I haven't had as many Australia YA novels come across my TBR pile. I when I checked my storygraph account I had read 21 OZ YA this year and I only read 23 in totoal last year so maybe it is not as bad as I thought. As a mother of two teens and a TL I find myself thinking constantly about what I/we can do to better promote Australian YA. One thing I'm thinking I need to do is actually make the effort as a family to buy the books, not just use the library. But overall I'm find it very hard to reach and engage teens in books. One thing I'm considering is offering "rewards" for book reviews in the library and maybe having a school book review social media account. I think I probably need to also search for OZYA reviewers, I find it much harder to find people reviewing OZYA compared to OZ picture books and younger reader chapter books. Thank you for thought provoking post, I will keep thinking about this.
Oh and Liar's Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina is amazing.
I love the idea of offering rewards for reviews, and starting a social media account for them! I ran a book review competition at a previous school for Children's Book Week and had pretty good uptake for it. Our library catalogue allowed kids to add their own reviews which was really helpful. Peer recommendations are always better than ones from adults!
And yes, huge fan of Liar's Test. I'll have to add it to a future newsletter. Thank you for the reminder. 21 Australian YA books is a great effort!
Thank you for reading and commenting as always! Take care.