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Publishers Weekly on the future of YA

Posted: October 4th, 2011, 12:10 pm
by Doug Pardee
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-t ... f-age.html

Highlights (all wording is from the article linked above):
  • Teen titles dominate publishers’ fall lists, and those books overwhelmingly feature menacing creatures, forbidden romances, and apocalyptic versions of this and future Earth.
  • Suzanne Collins, author: "This is a population of young people who don’t remember a time when the country was not at war."
  • Alessandra Balzer, HarperCollins VP: "There are no more taboos; YA covers every category."
  • Barry Goldblatt, agent: "In spite of what is said about reading in our country, we have an audience that is constantly hungry for content."
  • Jennifer Laughran, agent: "Since bookstores moved the teen section away from the kids’ department, YA books lost the stigma that they were somehow inferior."
  • Ginger Clark, agent: "Almost all the editors I saw said they are not buying new paranormal. There was some agreement that readers might not yet have paranormal fatigue, but a lot of editors do."
  • The “next big thing” has already arrived—dystopias.
  • Rosemary Stimola, agent: "I have been to the dystopian mountaintop, and if the agent who sold The Hunger Games is going to advocate for another dystopia, it’s going to have to be completely special."
  • Ginger Clark, agent, has high hopes for a “straight-up science fiction” series... and a historical novel about two girls working in Britain’s Royal Air Force during WWII.

Re: Publishers Weekly on the future of YA

Posted: October 4th, 2011, 2:31 pm
by GingerWrite
Loving the fact that there are no more taboos. And it makes sense that paranormal is reaching its peak. It seems as if there's been a large wave of it the past few years.

Re: Publishers Weekly on the future of YA

Posted: October 5th, 2011, 8:32 am
by Sleeping Beauty
Doug Pardee wrote: [*] Suzanne Collins, author: "This is a population of young people who don’t remember a time when the country was not at war."
That makes my stomach hurt to read. Young people read books that both reflect and distort their own realities, and it's sad to think that wars in novels are the former.

Re: Publishers Weekly on the future of YA

Posted: October 10th, 2011, 10:58 am
by Fenris
Sleeping Beauty wrote:
Doug Pardee wrote: [*] Suzanne Collins, author: "This is a population of young people who don’t remember a time when the country was not at war."
That makes my stomach hurt to read. Young people read books that both reflect and distort their own realities, and it's sad to think that wars in novels are the former.
Hey, hey. I'm a teen, and my novel doesn't deal with modern wars with tanks and guns and stuff like that.

Just medieval ones.

But keep in mind that war is conflict, and conflict is interesting. Also, when given the chance, modern audiences tend to prefer action over discussion (as evidenced by the success of the Transformers movies), so naturally there would be more successful books about war than about rational discussion. Still, it is somewhat jarring to realize how jaded my generation has become. I've heard it used to be people would be surprised or afraid when they learned a war was beginning, even if it didn't involve their country. To my friends and I, it's simply accepted with a shrug of the shoulders and a roll of the eyes, and filed under 'political folly.' That may be one reason fiction is more popular among younger people--the real world is tiring.

Re: Publishers Weekly on the future of YA

Posted: October 10th, 2011, 11:25 am
by MattLarkin
Fenris wrote:
Sleeping Beauty wrote:
Doug Pardee wrote: [*] Suzanne Collins, author: "This is a population of young people who don’t remember a time when the country was not at war."
That makes my stomach hurt to read. Young people read books that both reflect and distort their own realities, and it's sad to think that wars in novels are the former.
Hey, hey. I'm a teen, and my novel doesn't deal with modern wars with tanks and guns and stuff like that.

Just medieval ones.
Medieval wars with tanks and guns and stuff? Reminds of an old animated movie called Wizards.
But keep in mind that war is conflict, and conflict is interesting. Also, when given the chance, modern audiences tend to prefer action over discussion (as evidenced by the success of the Transformers movies), so naturally there would be more successful books about war than about rational discussion.
:lol:

Re: Publishers Weekly on the future of YA

Posted: October 11th, 2011, 8:46 am
by Fenris
MattLarkin wrote:
Fenris wrote:But keep in mind that war is conflict, and conflict is interesting. Also, when given the chance, modern audiences tend to prefer action over discussion (as evidenced by the success of the Transformers movies), so naturally there would be more successful books about war than about rational discussion.
:lol:
Okay so that might have been exaggerating. Still, most people my age prefer active conflict over intellectual conflict, at least in what they read.

Re: Publishers Weekly on the future of YA

Posted: October 16th, 2011, 2:50 pm
by Mira
You post the most interesting articles, Doug!

I think this all bodes well for the future of books. J.K. Rowling can be credited with getting kids and teens reading again. As these groups age, they'll carry their love of books with them.

I do wish there were more light-hearted, funny teen books out there. Teens need some lightness in their lives.