By Emily Simpson
Today it’s back to school to learn our YA alphabet. Let’s take a look at some useful (and some not so useful) info about the world of Young Adult literature…
A is for Age boundaries - A young adult is classed as being between 12 to 18 years old, but at 24 I still consider myself to be one, and I’m sure the adults who buy over 55% of all YA books feel the same.
B is for Bildungsroman - A sub-genre of YA lit and a fancy way of describing a coming of age story.
C is for The Carnegie Medal in Literature - An annual British award, given to the most outstanding new book for children or young adults. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness won it last year.
D is for Dystopias - A popular genre within YA lit. Look out for Requiem, the final instalment of Lauren Oliver’s Delirium trilogy; it’s out in March.
E is for E-books - Download FREE YA novels for your e-reading device: http://www.smashwords.com/books/category/1018/newest/0/free/any
F is for Fanfiction - Fanfic based on YA novels is making moolah! Erotic fanfic, to be precise. Fifty Shades began as Twilight fanfic and at her peak, E.L. James was earning $1.35 million in royalties per week. Now Simon and Schuster have picked up Beautiful Bastard, by Hobbs and Billings; which is basically Bella and Edward types, getting steamy, in an office…
G is for Genre - YA is widely recognised as a collection of genres. Some try and claim it’s just an age group, but it’s BOTH, because it’s THAT good and important.
H is for Harry Potter/The Hunger Games - Two of the biggest selling YA series of all time.
I is for Increased Sales - Sales of YA fiction have gone up by 150% in the past 6 years. It’s currently the most lucrative genre/age group (whatever you want to call it) in the industry. Budding authors: take note.
J is for John Green. He won the Goodread’s Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction in 2012 for The Fault in Our Stars. The winner is chosen purely by readers, so it’s great recognition.
K is for Katniss Everdeen, feisty protagonist of The Hunger Games and the symbol of the current gender debate in YA fiction. With the YA market dominated by strong, female characters, the question being asked is: are female heroines overdone?
L is for The London Book Fair - Over 100 exhibitors will be in attendance, all dedicated to the world of children’s and YA publishing. It’s happening on the 15-17th April, so register to attend now: http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/en/Global-Elements/LBF-2012/Focus-On/CHILDRENS-AND-YOUNG-ADULT/
M is for Melvin Burgess. One of the most controversial YA writers and with books called Doing It and Smack, I’m sure you can guess why…
N is for New Adult Fiction - Coined by US publishers St. Martin’s Press, it’s used to describe books that fall into that grey area between young adult and adult fiction. Often used when referring to steamy stories, like the up and coming Union Street series, by Gemma Burgess.
O is for Optimism - “Sick-lit” is currently being used to describe the dark content of modern YA literature, with critics disturbed by the influx of books about terminal illnesses, self-harm and suicide. But aren’t these gritty themes essential to the authenticity of the genre? Teens need an honest, realistic interpretation of the world and something to relate to; think positively, people!
P is for The Problem Novel - Sometimes used to describe YA lit in a negative way (would there ever be a need to do so?). It refers to an adolescent coming up against a social or personal problem.
Q is for Quiz - How well do you know your YA? Take the Goodreads quiz to find out: http://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/8087-young-adult-book-quiz
R is for The Read Me Anthology - A book showcasing extracts from new and exciting YA novels, written by young writers from Warwick University.
S is for Stephanie Thwaites - Major agent to YA writers. Currently accepting submissions and looking for thrillers and romance based stories: http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/stephanie-thwaites-2/
T is for Themes - There are few themes that YA lit hasn’t yet explored. Some of the old favourites are identity, sexuality and peer pressure and recently themes of illness/death and survival have risen in popularity.
U is for Universities - If you want to study creative writing for young adults at higher education level, have a look at the modules on offer from Warwick, Bath Spa, Southampton (featured course) and Nottingham Trent Universities.
V is for Veronica Roth - The author of the Divergent trilogy is one of nine New York Times bestselling authors to appear in Shards and Ashes, a new anthology of dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories, which Roth has described as, “a YA author explosion of awesome.” http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.co.uk
W is for The Writer’s and Artist’s Yearbook - The definitive guide to all major YA agents and publishers in the UK.
X is for X-rated - It was only a matter of time before someone wrote a YA version of Fifty Shades. The much anticipated Irresistible, by Liz Bankes, will be published by Piccadilly Press in April.
Y is for Young YA authors - S.E. Hinton was only 15 when she started writing The Outsiders. Get started early...
Z is for Zombies - Forget vamps and wolves, it’s all about zombie-lit now. Since the recent film adaptation of Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies, starring the rather beautiful Nicholas Hoult, the walking dead are taking over YA fiction. What will the next trend be?
So now you know your YA- ABC’s. Feel free to add to the list!
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