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I'm YA and I'm OK.
Apr. 27th, 2009 01:04 pmAs usual, John Scalzi says it best:
Observers of the science fiction field will note the Nebula Award for Best Novel was won this year by a YA book, that the Tiptree Award is co-shared by a YA novel, and that in the Hugo Best Novel category, two and a half of the books nominated are also YA (the “half” in this case being Zoe’s Tale, written to be YA-friendly but shelved with the adult SF). This surge of recognition for YA has caused some consternation and grumbling in certain quarters. Here’s what I have to say about that:
Yes, how horrible it is that some of what’s being hailed as the best science fiction and fantasy written today is in a literary category designed to encourage millions of young people to read for the rest of their natural lives. Because God knows the last thing science fiction and fantasy publishing needs right now is whole generation of new and enthusiastic readers who might actually get hooked into the genre until they die. It’s a goddamn tragedy, it is.
YES. Yes, that.
It just so happens that we are living right now in the heyday of YA fiction. We are in the glorious golden age of the teen novel. There are some amazing talents writing YA--writers I adore turning out books that make me excited. This is a glorious time to be a children's book editor, or to be reading teen fiction, or just to care about the kidlit industry.
I spend so much time in the kidlitosphere these days that I forget sometimes that there are people out there who gripe about the attention that YA gets, or conversly, think that YA is not every bit as strong and smart and complex and fascinating and exciting and well-written as adult books (and sometimes even better.)
And then this happens. YA gets a swarm of recognition from the FSF world. As a children's book editor and a kidlit lover, I am thrilled beyond words. First of all, for the books that were chosen. The Knife of Never Letting Go was one of my standout books of the year, and I am so happy to see it get this kind of recognition. It's groundbreaking and brave and compulsively readable. And second, of course, because it's time our corner of the industry was acknowledged as sharing the playing field with the grownups.
If you are still grumbling about the fact that YA swept the FSF awards this year, do yourself a favor. Read some YA books. I'll be happy to give you a short list of recommended titles, but if you don't want to ask, the shortlists and award lists for the awards is definitely a good place to start. Read The Knife of Never Letting Go, and then come back and we can have a conversation.
YA is here and it's proud and it's good. And it's not going away.
Observers of the science fiction field will note the Nebula Award for Best Novel was won this year by a YA book, that the Tiptree Award is co-shared by a YA novel, and that in the Hugo Best Novel category, two and a half of the books nominated are also YA (the “half” in this case being Zoe’s Tale, written to be YA-friendly but shelved with the adult SF). This surge of recognition for YA has caused some consternation and grumbling in certain quarters. Here’s what I have to say about that:
Yes, how horrible it is that some of what’s being hailed as the best science fiction and fantasy written today is in a literary category designed to encourage millions of young people to read for the rest of their natural lives. Because God knows the last thing science fiction and fantasy publishing needs right now is whole generation of new and enthusiastic readers who might actually get hooked into the genre until they die. It’s a goddamn tragedy, it is.
YES. Yes, that.
It just so happens that we are living right now in the heyday of YA fiction. We are in the glorious golden age of the teen novel. There are some amazing talents writing YA--writers I adore turning out books that make me excited. This is a glorious time to be a children's book editor, or to be reading teen fiction, or just to care about the kidlit industry.
I spend so much time in the kidlitosphere these days that I forget sometimes that there are people out there who gripe about the attention that YA gets, or conversly, think that YA is not every bit as strong and smart and complex and fascinating and exciting and well-written as adult books (and sometimes even better.)
And then this happens. YA gets a swarm of recognition from the FSF world. As a children's book editor and a kidlit lover, I am thrilled beyond words. First of all, for the books that were chosen. The Knife of Never Letting Go was one of my standout books of the year, and I am so happy to see it get this kind of recognition. It's groundbreaking and brave and compulsively readable. And second, of course, because it's time our corner of the industry was acknowledged as sharing the playing field with the grownups.
If you are still grumbling about the fact that YA swept the FSF awards this year, do yourself a favor. Read some YA books. I'll be happy to give you a short list of recommended titles, but if you don't want to ask, the shortlists and award lists for the awards is definitely a good place to start. Read The Knife of Never Letting Go, and then come back and we can have a conversation.
YA is here and it's proud and it's good. And it's not going away.
