To anyone that’s been paying attention to recent trends in young adult (YA) over the last four or five years, the line-up of books slated for 2019 is both timely and highly anticipated. With the push for diversity in literature and media still going as strong as ever (perhaps even stronger than ever), it seems that publishers have finally started to seriously answer the call. Young adult (and middle grade) lists are heavy with POC leads and the number of books about LGBTQ characters has doubled since the last few publishing seasons (and that’s just looking at books coming out—pun intended—between January and April! The list for May through June is even longer!). This is extra important when you consider that as recently as 2012, just over 1 percent of YA books had any LGBTQ content at all.
notes on publishing
Why the Publishing Industry is Thriving (Not Dying)
By Kristen Ludwigsen @kludlitup
When I told friends and family that I would be pursuing a graduate degree in book publishing, I was met with varied reactions. Some people thought it sounded wonderful—the perfect niche degree for a bookworm like myself. Many others were surprised and pessimistic: “Isn’t that a dying industry?” I admit it made me question my choice at times. Was I really about to go thousands of dollars into debt to hopefully get a career in an industry that would soon cease to exist?
Is the Market for YA Dystopia Growing as Bleak as the Genre’s Content?
By Alexis Woodcock
Shortly after The Divergent Series: Allegiant hit theaters, searches for “YA dystopia” in Google News yielded a veritable barrage of articles declaring that the genre was finally on its way out—at least in cinema. From the Guardian to the LA Times to the Washington Post, speculation was rampant. But if we’re truly nearing a hard […]
What Not to Read Before Bed
By Emily Einolander emilyeino
Never would I dream of telling you not to read before bed. Reading oneself to sleep is the only way some of us can successfully slip into dreamland, and it’s a glorious tradition not to be trifled with. But beware. This relaxation technique can backfire so hard that you will find yourself unable to close […]