The Centre for Youth Literature has picked the brains of Australia’s YA publishers to gain insight into their work, and their titles. For the next few weeks we will be featuring interviews with a number of individuals on their work in YA publishing.

 Now to introduce….Claire.

I’m the children’s publisher at Pan Macmillan Australia, based in Sydney and responsible for commissioning, developing and producing a boutique list of titles, from junior fiction through to young adult.

What is the first book you worked on and in what capacity?
I was living in Cambridge, UK, and working for the literary magazine GRANTA. The first issue I ever worked on was GRANTA No. 19 – ‘More Dirt’. It was a who’s who of extraordinary American writers such as Richard Ford, Jayne Anne Phillips and John Updike.

Officially, I was the subscription manager but we were a very small team so everyone did a little of everything, such as proofing and actually pasting up the magazine (this was in the old days). I wasn’t very good at the pasting-up part and still remember the panic of searching for a paragraph I had accidentally chucked in the rubbish bin.*

What is the most anticipated release of this year?
This is an impossible question to answer in the singular so my most anticipated releases this year are GIRL DEFECTIVE by Simmone Howell in March, WILDLIFE by Fiona Wood in June, THE HOWLING BOY by Cath Crowley in September and the sequel to A CORNER OF WHITE by Jaclyn Moriarty in October.

Pan Macmillan has a year of magical YAs.

What are the popular themes in YA right now?
YA is such an elastic category but ‘voice’ and ‘heart’ are still as important as ever, regardless of the theme. As a reaction to the recent paranormal and dystopian deluge, ‘real teen’ fiction is possibly gaining more traction and GIRL DEFECTIVE, WILDLIFE and THE HOWLING BOY are all superlative examples of this.

Which fictional character would you like to be?
Oh no! Another singular question. Well, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye. (I read this when I was sixteen and it was my first real experience of ‘voice’.) Or maybe Emma from Jane Austen’s Emma, or …

*I found it.

YA is magical, as has been your time on Read Alert.  Thank you Claire for sharing

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As you know, our Writer In Residence program over at Inside A Dog offers teenagers an opportunity to interact and workshop with authors.

Following is a line-up of our Writer In Residence program for the first 6-months of 2013. If you see a student’s favourite author, or perhaps are reading an author’s book, pop on by!

• February – Alyssa Brugman
• March – Myke Bartlett
• April – Raina Telgemeier
• May – Garth Nix
• June – Ambelin Kwaymullina

 

You’ll notice that from March to June we will be showcasing Reading Matters authors, who will be involved in the Reading Matters Student Day program.

Enjoy!

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The Centre for Youth Literature has picked the brains of Australia’s YA publishers to gain insight into their work, and their titles.  For the next few weeks we will be featuring interviews with a number of individuals on their work in YA publishing.
My name is Mary Verney and I am an editor at Walker Books Australia, a subsidiary to the world-renowned English publisher of children’s books. The Walker office is based in Newtown, Sydney and we publish everything from board books to YA fiction. It is my job to work with authors to make their manuscript the best it can be before it goes to print and enters the world. It is a wonderful job and I consider myself very luck to be part of such a great industry. I started out in retail, managing a book department for Myer in Brisbane. After completing a Diploma of Editing and Publishing, I moved to Sydney to work for Pan Macmillan as an editorial assistant. I’ve been working at Walker Books for three years, first as a junior editor, now as an editor.

What is the first book you worked on and in what capacity?
The first YA book I worked when I was a junior editor at Walker, was The Project by Brian Falkner. It is an action-packed adventure that jumps between modern-day Iowa and Germany during World War II. A lot of fact checking was required and that was my job. Around the same time I was proofreading the first of the Rosie Black Chronicles, Genesis.

What is the most anticipated release of this year?
I’d have to say the second book in The Tribe series – The Disappearance of Ember Crow. I’m working on the manuscript at the moment, and it is wonderful – it starts with a bang, and the stakes just couldn’t get any higher for our protagonist Ashala and her Tribe. The author, Ambelin Kwaymullina, has really stepped up the pace in this second novel and the reader will be hooked from the very first line! It is being published later in the year.

What are the popular themes in YA right now?
I think dystopian fiction has knocked the vampires off their perch. The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf has done really well; readers have connected with Ashala and her struggle and are also intrigued by the elements of spiritual wisdom that Ambelin has woven throughout the novel. Lara Morgan’s series The Rosie Black Chronicles is another fantastic take on the fictional future of Australia and has been very popular. Both books have environmental themes and that is quiet a hot topic.Many novels for the YA readership deal with belonging. Finding out who you are and where you fit in is such a big part of entering adulthood that it will always be something writers of YA fiction explore. I love novels like Little Sister by Aimee Said and Cinnamon Rain by Emma Cameron for their exploration of friendship, family and belonging.

Which fictional character would you like to be?
Oh, that is a hard question … I think at the moment I’d have to say Georgie Spider from The Tribe series. Her ability – to see various possible futures – is pretty amazing. Plus she has a calm dreamy quality that I really like. She always knows the right thing to say as well, which is a great trait to have. Plus I’m really keen to see where her character goes over the course of the series.

A big thank you to Mary for her time away from editing what is sure to be a great addition to the Australian YA scene.

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The Centre for Youth Literature has picked the brains of Australia’s YA publishers to gain insight into their work, and their titles.  For the next few weeks we will be featuring interviews with a number of individuals on their work in YA publishing.

 

Why hello, I’m Stephanie Stepan, Children’s and YA publicist over at Text Publishing. You may not know me, but I’m certain you know our authors!

We publish children’s and YA authors such as Rebecca Stead, Paula Weston, David Levithan, John Green, Sally Rippin and Vikki Wakefield. Now, we publicists are a tricky breed to pin down. A large part of our job goes on behind the scenes where we organise things like interviews and reviews that later appear in magazines, newspapers, online and on radio and TV. You can also find us with authors at events and writers’ festivals around the country.

What is the first book you worked on and in what capacity?
The first book I worked on was an absolute gem called WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead. I consider myself very lucky to have worked on this book as a publicist. Firstly, it’s not every day that book like this lands on your desk and secondly, Rebecca Stead may just be the nicest author ever. If you haven’t yet had the joy of meeting Miranda in Rebecca Stead’s WHEN YOU REACH ME I suggest you don’t wait a minute longer. And I’m certain you’ll also love Georges, the narrator of Rebecca’s latest novel LIAR & SPY. He really is the most remarkable spy.

What is the most anticipated release of this year?
Where to begin? I note that this question seems to be asking for a singular title, but you can’t very well ask me for just one! Here at Text Publishing we can’t stop talking about Alyssa Brugman’s first YA novel in several years, ALEX AS WELL (Feb 2013). Refreshing and fearless doesn’t even begin to describe this unforgettable book. We’re also counting down the days until the release of debut author Tim Hehir’s JULIUS AND THE WATCHMAKER (May 2013). It’s a fabulous time-travel adventure set mostly in Victorian era London. If you loved Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret or Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan, then this book is for you.

As you can see, we love our home grown novelists here at Text, and this coming June we’re celebrating the best in Aussie writing with the Text YA Classics series.  Watch our for long-time favourites such as Joan Phipson’s The Watcher in the Garden, Ivan Southall’s Hill’s End, Patricia Wrightson’s I Own the Racecourse and Nan Chauncy’s They Found a Cave.

What are the popular themes in YA right now?
I’m seeing huge enthusiasm for really strong contemporary YA such as Vikki Wakefield’s ALL I EVER WANTED and her breathtaking second novel FRIDAY BROWN. 18-year-old Steph Bowe’s new novel ALL THIS COULD END (March 2013) is another really impressive example of this genre: witty, insightful and highly original. Like me, you may also find yourself with a bit of a crush on loveable geek Spencer.

You’ve probably also noticed a lot of love for New Adult. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if this is really all that different from the YA we know and love. I feel like it could just be a new found excuse for older readers to join the YA fan club. And of course, all welcome.

Which fictional character would you like to be?
It took me all of an eye blink to find my answer to this question. And then I couldn’t stop smiling (ok, maybe blushing) at the thought of it. You can turn me into Gaby Winters any day. You probably know Gaby as one of the sassy lead characters in Paula Weston’s SHADOWS (Book I of the Rephaim series). Sure, she can kick-ass with some pretty top fight moves, but all I really want to do is hangout with the hottest boy in town, Rafa. The frisson between Gaby and Rafa has all our hearts racing at Text HQ and, for anyone who loved SHADOWS, there is a sensational scene in Book II, HAZE (June 2013), that really does require a fan while reading.

 

A big thank you to Steph for sharing what excites her about young adult literature and the interesting titles soon to hit the shelves.

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Poetry can be a stumper for many teachers so why not take advantage of Australian Poetry’s professional development?

Australian Poetry presents: Teaching poetry in the senior years with Elizabeth Campbell.

These workshops are designed to make teachers confident and excited about teaching poetry in years 11 and 12. Using the poetry set on the VCE Unit 4 exam, Elizabeth Campbell will work with participants to develop a ‘thinking curriculum’ approach to poetry, focussing on higher-order thinking.

Teachers will leave the workshops equipped with extensive notes and resources on the poets studied, and practical skills for teaching poetry in the senior classroom. Suitable for experienced and beginning teachers of VCE.

Elizabeth Campbell is both a teacher and one of Australia’s most exciting younger poets.

Find more information here.

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The Centre for Youth Literature has picked the brains of Australia’s YA publishers to gain insight into their work, and their titles. For the next few weeks we will be featuring interviews with a number of individuals on their work in YA publishing.  Join us every Tuesday as we gain insight into the Australian YA publishing industry.

 

My name is Jennifer Kean and I’m the Publicity Manager at Hardie Grant Egmont. There is a lot of variety in my role, particularly because of the way our company is structured. I am working across a variety of titles from picture books, junior fiction series through to stand alone YA fiction. These lists are both local and UK originated releases, so the publicity requirements for these books and their authors and illustrators differ greatly.

My job description involves tailoring publicity plans or campaigns to best suit the title that I’m working on. I look after publicity for our books across Australia and New Zealand.

I work with a variety of media – newspapers, magazines, teacher and librarian journals, industry publications, as well as TV and radio – to get review coverage, media coverage and interviews.

I also work with contacts at many bookstores, schools and libraries as well as a number of writing festival committees and publishing industry groups to organise book launches, book signing events and author/illustrator appearances.

What is the first book you worked on and in what capacity?
Go Girl! was the first series that I worked on in a publicity capacity back in 2008. I organised two back-to-back events at Readings, Hawthorn and Readings, Carlton. We were celebrating the launch of our Go Girl! HQ merchandisers with in-store “Draw Yourself as a Go Girl” events.

 

What is the most anticipated release of this year?
Our crossover-YA romance series Smitten is one of our hottest releases for 2013. These stories about adventures in far off places, amazing new jobs in glamorous cities and finding romance along the way, will sweep you off your feet and keep you up late at night. Just like any new crush should! We will be publishing 9 titles by the end of the year, each supported with an extensive marketing and publicity campaign.

 

What are the popular themes in YA right now?
Romance is a huge trend right now, whether it’s the falling over your high heels kind of love featured in Smitten or a sweet, quirky romance captured so well by Melissa Keil in her debut novel Life In Outer Space. I suspect most publishers will be looking at releasing YA romance titles that don’t have a vampire or werewolf in sight, particularly in light of the success 50 Shades of Grey had in the adult market last year.

 

Which fictional character would you like to be?
Tatiana Metanova from Paullina Simon’s ‘The Bronze Horseman‘ historical fiction trilogy. Her heroic spirit and the powerful love that she has for Alexander Belov triumphs over the devastation of a country at war. It’s a heart-stopping love story… aaah if only Alexander wasn’t just alive on the pages!

 

Thank you so much for your insight, Jen!

 

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We are very excited to announce our incredibly diverse and supremely talented author line up for the 2013 Reading Matters program:

Libba Bray (USA)
Gayle Forman (USA)
Raina Telgemeier (USA)
Keith Gray (UK)
Tim Sinclair (NSW)
Paul Callaghan (VIC / UK)
Fiona Wood (VIC)
John Flanagan (NSW)
Alison Croggon (VIC)
Myke Bartlett (VIC)
Morris Gleitzman (NSW)
Ambelin Kwaymullina (WA)
Garth Nix (NSW)
Andrew McGahan (VIC)
Gabrielle Williams (VIC)
Vikki Wakefield (SA)

For more information on all our authors you can visit our biographies page.

More information on the conference, student day and special evening event (including bookings) can be found here.

 

Accommodation

We are pleased to announce that Reading Matters attendees can access special accommodation rates at select Accor hotels.

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Earlier this week the American Library Association announced their 2013 Youth Media awards, sparking immediate discourse on Twitter and listserv about the winners and honorees.  Being Australian leads to some unfamiliarity with these American titles, however I found myself reading the thoughts of many American librarians.  Their arguments were scarily familiar– the notion of literary quality versus teen appeal.

Is the priority in these awards to recognise the best writer?  Awards committees have an established list of guidelines in which to follow – it makes sense that a title’s literary qualities are more easily quantifiable.  A writing award should go to the best writer.  Good writing elevates young adult literature. However, in arguing for the best piece of literature, we sometimes eliminate books that resonate more strongly with teen readers.

Many librarians expressed dismay that some of the awarded titles would gather dust on their bookshelves despite vigorous booktalking and elaborate displays. Which begs the question – is the concept of quality made null and void if there is no hunger for what is being awarded?

Many readers read books that are the equivalent of Fruit Loops while growing up, yet will move onto works of literary genius.  Some readers like to dally in each end of the reading pool, some like the deep end, some do laps churning through everything.  Teens know what quality is.  They just prefer it when quality is also enjoyable to read.

It is nigh on impossible to sell a book to a teen if it doesn’t sell itself.  Quality or not, there needs to be a plot or a concept that ignites a spark.  Quality isn’t a selling point to a teen and this is something we need to remember as adults.  We might be over paranormal or dystopia, they aren’t.  We might choose to reference  Ferris Bueller in order to spark their interest, they probably haven’t heard of it.  At some point, we need to divest ourselves from the equation.

While teens are represented in the title of an award, they should also be a part of the award criteria.  Young adult literature is for teens.  That should count for something.  While we have a vested interest in cultivating taste, and having teens read about social injustice and inclusivity – sometimes teens just want to read what they want to read.

While quality is important, so is the teen reader’s engagement with reading. There are many authors who achieve this, John Green’s Looking for Alaska, Cath Crowley’s Graffiti Moon, or Markus Zusak’s The Messenger.  I am cautious of award winning books that have an “issue” clearly stated in the blurb.  Good writing for teens isn’t about an issue, it’s about living, loving and surviving.  It’s about bravery, and yearning, and sacrifice.  It’s about growing and changing, not learning.  It’s about feelings, emotions and the every day difficulties of ping ponging between who you are and who you want to be.  It’s these books, without social agenda, that connect.  It’s these books that fulfill teenage readers.

Quality in youth literature should represent exceptional writing, emotional awareness and a representation of a young person’s experience through an authentic gaze.  Some people will read this and believe I am a proponent of dumbing down teen’s reading.  This is not true.

Every year the Centre for Youth Literature hosts the Inky Awards, a teen’s choice award.  Teens have a strong voice in the longlist of ten Australian and International titles, and are primarily responsible for the shortlist and the ultimate winner.  The adults who oversee the teen judging panel usually approach the task assuming the teens will choose along popularity, quality-lite books.  They come away knowing they are wrong, and reevaluate their thoughts on teen readers and their perceptiveness.  Previous Inky winners, as decided by teens, have included John Green, James Roy, Simmone Howell, Jenny Downham and Lucy Christopher    Teens have taste, and quality ones at that, so why is teen appeal so often dismissed as popularity?

Why are adults deciding what is quality teen literature?  Where are all the judging panels that have teens sitting alongside librarians or teachers?  Often awards from teens are separated from the big awards.  Where is the teen representation for the Printz, The Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year or Prime Minister’s Literary Awards?  If awards are for teen literature, shouldn’t the audience be represented?

 

Adele Walsh is the Program Coordinator for the Centre for Youth Literature promoting ways and means to encourage young people to read for pleasure. Adele is an avid YA reader and advocate, and a successful YA blogger (Persnickety Snark). She has previously worked as a teacher in Australia, and Japan.

@CentreYouthLit

 

 

 

 

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In the early hours of this morning the American Library Association (ALA) announced this year’s Youth Media awards.  What follows are the award winners and shortlists for young adult orientated categories.

Which ones have you read?

 

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:

The One and Only Ivan –  Katherine Applegate

Three Newbery Honor Books:

• Splendors and Glooms –  Laura Amy Schlitz
• Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon – Steve Sheinkin
• Three Times Lucky –  Sheila Turnage

 

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:

Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America – by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkey

Two King Author Honor Books:

• Each Kindness – Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
• No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller –  Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory

 

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:

In Darkness – Nick Lake

 Four Printz Honor Books:

• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe –  Benjamin Alire Sáenz
• Code Name Verity – Elizabeth Wein
• Dodger – Terry Pratchett
• The White Bicycle – Beverley Brenna

 

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:

• Caring is Creepy –  David Zimmerman
• Girlchild –  Tupelo Hassman
• Juvenile in Justice –  Richard Ross
• Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore –  Robin Sloan
• My Friend Dahmer –  Derf Backderf
• Pure –  Julianna Baggott.
• The Round House –  Louise Erdrich
• Tell the Wolves I’m Home -  Carol Rifka Brunt
• Where’d You Go, Bernadette? -  Maria Semple

 

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:

Tamora Pierce is the 2013 Edwards Award winner. Pierce was born in rural Western Pennsylvania in 1954. She knew from a young age she liked stories and writing, and in 1983, she published her first book, Song of the Lioness. She continues to write and even record her own audiobooks. She currently lives with her husband (spouse-creature) and a myriad of animals in Syracuse, New York.

 

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:

The Fault in Our Stars –  written by John Green and narrated by Kate Rudd.

Three Odyssey Honor Audiobooks:

• Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian – written by Eoin Colfer and narrated by Nathaniel Parker
• Ghost Knight –  written by Cornelia Funke and narrated by Elliot Hill
• Monstrous Beauty –  written by Elizabeth Fama and narrated by Katherine Kellgren.

 

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Awardgiven annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe –  Benjamin Alire Sáenz

 Four Stonewall Honor Books :

• Drama –  written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
• Gone, Gone, Gone –  Hannah Moskowitz
• October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard – Lesléa Newman
• Sparks: The Epic, Completely True Blue, (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie - S. J. Adams

 

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:

Seraphina  - Rachel Hartman

Four other books:

• Wonder Show – Hannah Barnaby
• Love and Other Perishable Items – Laura Buzo
• After the Snow –   S. D. Crockett
• The Miseducation of Cameron Post –  emily m. danforth

 

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults:

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon –  Steve Sheinkin

Four other books:

• Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different – Karen Blumenthal
• A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 –  Phillip Hoose
• Titanic: Voices from the Disaster –  Deborah Hopkinson
• We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March – Cynthia Levinson

For the entire announcement, including the awards aimed at younger audiences, click here.

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We lost one of Australia’s most prolific contributors to Australian children’s literature  this week.

Jan Ormerod was one of our most distinguished illustrators, with a career spent working with some of the great names of children’s literature, both Australian and international.

Born in W.A., Jan went to live in the U.K. in 1980, returning to Australia as often as possible with her family.  Her first book, Sunshine, a beautiful and evocative wordless picture book written in 1982 after the birth of her first child, won the Mother Goose Award, the Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture Book Award and was highly commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

Her output was prolific, and across the years she both wrote and/or illustrated 79 books. Amongst many other awards, she received an IBBY Honour Diploma, Illustration in 2006 for Lizzie Nonsense, another CBCA Award for Maudie and Bear, illustrated by Freya Blackwood, in 2011 and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, Children’s Fiction in 2011 for Shake a Leg, written by Boori Monty Pryor, our first Australian Children’s Laureate.

Jan’s work was charming, witty and full of energy and that carried over into her words and illustrations. To quote her own words: ‘Telling a story with words and pictures is a little like watching a movie, then selecting the evocative moment, like a still taken from a film.’

She will be sorely missed.

Photo Credit: CaringBridge.com

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The Age is currently doing a Summer Reading series focussing on each of the Inky Award shortlisted titles. With online extracts, readers can get a taste for some great Young Adult books.

First up was Em Bailey’s Shift, winner of the 2012 Gold Inky and a ‘moving feast of fantasy and friction’.

Today’s title is Kirsty Eager’s Night Beach, ‘skimming the surface of darkness’.

The remaining shortlisted titles from Australia and overseas will be featured across the next eight days, so stay tuned to The Age’s Book section!

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There always seems to be a sense of trepidation when you are about to read a favourite author’s new book. There is, of course, excitement, but in the back of your mind there is that niggling fear that it may not be as good as the previous one, or even worse… different!

I fell beneath Gayle Forman’s spell when voraciously reading the story of Mia and Adam in If I Stay (2009) and Where She Went (2011). Forman constructs characters that crawl out from the page and into your chest cavity, where they play havoc. Your heart accelerates or plummets with a line of dialogue, a small gesture, or the realisation that what comes next isn’t on your list of predictions.

I am pleased to say all this is true of her new novel, Just One Day (to be released in Australia on 16th January). Some might be saddened that the story of Mia and Adam has concluded but I was racing to know Allyson in all her emotionally restrained glory.

We meet Allyson on the last day of her very structured, parent-approved tour of Europe. What is meant to be a celebration of the end of high school and the start of a new era (college) is soul sucking and uneventful… until she spots Willem. What results is the first impetuous act of Allyson’s life and the broadening of her horizons as she falls in love with Paris, and Willem. The beauty of this dynamic is that there are many signposts that Willem might not be the gleaming light that Allyson wants him to be. But Forman vividly creates a world, a twirling mass of romance, beauty and lust, which makes her protagonist and the reader fall deeply.

It makes the thump to earth real. The early-on revelation that Willem has deserted Allyson, and the readers, is made all the more painful.

At first Just One Day comes across as the simple tale of girl meets boy but it’s what occurs after boy leaves girl that lifts Forman’s deft touch to a new level. Allyson plateaus after the Paris debacle; she numbs herself at college failing to make connections with others and her classes. She is heartbroken and checked out.

Just One Day could be all about Willem but its strength is how this boy is used as a way for Allyson to find her way without him. There is relief in her final movement from inertia to living, her decision to break away from her suffocating mother, make her own life choices and grapple with the fissure that has developed between her and her childhood best friend. These story points ring entirely true – that shift that occurs after school is over and people begin to drift. Sometimes sharing a past isn’t enough to keep the ties that bind tight.

Just One Day is a character rich exploration of that time in life when you need to re-examine who you are. It’s about shifting focus and redefining what you want and how you want to get it. It’s about clarity, and love, and heartbreak, and angst. It’s the reason I love reading Gayle Forman’s world.

Random House 

Gayle Forman will be a guest at the 2013 Reading Matters conference.

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The Centre for Youth Literature is pleased and privileged to have recently welcomed Anna Burkey to our team, as the Reader Development Manager at the State Library of Victoria:

When you come to a new country, the best way to begin to understand your new home is to soak up the stories – read the books, see the plays, join the libraries. I was already in love with Craig Silvey’s compelling Jasper Jones, with its gothic take on growing up in a regional mining town, but now I’ve arrived in Australia from the cold crags of bonny Scotland, I’m eager for more great Aussie YA reads..

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Kirsty Eager’s dreamy Night Beach opened up surfing culture before I found myself in the Fremantle heat and the long, warm nights of Myke Bartlett’s mythical Fire in the Sea, chased by the Minotaur through the dark streets.

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Em Bailey’s Gold Inky-winning Shift gave me the shivers, introducing me to the supernatural at the same time as Australian high school life, while Vikki Wakefield’s haunting Friday Brown gave me an aching sense of isolation, with its wide open spaces and the lonely Silence..

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I perked up with Nathan Jurevicius’ wordless graphic adventure Scarygirl and was far too excited by my discovery of Nicki Greenberg’s Hamlet – her adaptation of The Great Gatsby was a joyous discovery on a previous visit to Melbourne.

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There are many more books on my reading list for 2013, from catching up with classics like Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels to devouring Tim Hehir’s forthcoming Julius and the Watchmaker. I’m always on the hunt for great poetry and fabulous storytelling – recommendations are welcome!

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The Book

You won’t find Life of Pi on the Young Adult shelf in any bookstore, but there’s no significant reason why it shouldn’t be. It follows Piscine (Pi) Patel as a young boy growing up in India, and the bulk of the book is devoted to Pi’s time as a teenager – specifically, his time spent adrift at sea in a lifeboat, with a tiger.

Pi’s story does have moments of great violence, and great sadness – but no more so than you’d find in a YA book by Sonya Hartnett, Margo Lanagan, or Suzanne Collins.

Life of Pi is literature, and very good literature, as testified by its collection of awards (including the 2002 Man Booker prize). This is certainly no reason to exclude it from a YA audience, but could well be why adults are so keen to claim it as their own. (Being first published in Canada in 2001 may well be another factor. I am, quite frankly, ignorant on Canadian book publishing and marketing tactics.)

The book is brilliant. Pi is recounting his great story (and other, smaller stories that are not without their own moments of greatness) to the author. It is recorded diligently in first-person, but is occasionally littered with the author’s asides as he offers observations on Pi’s manner, appearance, and the like. True to its implied aural roots, the storytelling is melodic in rhythm, vivid in imagery, and intense in emotion. Reading it is akin to lying down on a sheltered beach and having the waves lap at your heels (slowly drowning you with the rising tide). The plot is a little slow in the middle, but by that stage you are too far immersed in the journey, and by the end you are glad you hung on because the resolution is challenging and haunting. It is a story that begs to be shared, a book that opens dialogues and stimulates conversation.

Regardless of how you choose to classify it, Life of Pi is already enjoyed by the occasional teen, and with the release of the film it’s a great opportunity to recommend the book to any (older) teen readers interested in art, magic, story-telling, animals, religion, survival, adventure, heart-ache, and/or humanity.

The Film

Life of Pi is about as perfect as adaptation gets. A few characters condensed here, some emotional stakes increased there… just a few tweaks that are essential in translating the written word into an engaging visual performace. And oh what a performance it is!

All four actors that play Pi Patel across his various stages of life portray him perfectly – from a questioning boy, to an anguished teen, to the zen-like repose of a man who has survived troubled times. When you spend over an hour with Pi almost-alone in a boat - severely geographically and conversationally restricted – you’re going to need some fine acting to portray the kind of inner emotional journey that character is experiencing. Suraj Sharma definitely provides it.

Similarly, you’re going to need some fine CGI (or some very talented animal wranglers) to have that kind of Bengal tigal on-screen time. Again, Life of Pi delivers. It has amazing footage and digital effects that not only bring a whole zoo to the screen, but a whole character to life in Richard Parker (the infamous tiger). As well as making animals real, director Ang Lee delivers an utterly saturated, beautiful cinemascape of life at sea. 3D is used to the best effect I’ve ever seen – it is not flashy or showy, but instead provides depth to the ocean and distance to the horizon.

For those that have read the book, the film is impressively tactful in placing subtext throughout the film that hints at the story’s ending, without partiality or didacticism. For those that haven’t read the book, it’s definitely a film that will reward multiple viewings. The story of Pi – both in book and film - offers us a choice. What message we take from that is up to us. For myself, I find significance in the ideas that art is beauty, and belief is powerful.

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Great 2012 read*:

See You At Harry’s by Jo Knowles

I blubbered and balled my way through Fern’s story. And it isn’t because it was 270 pages of darkness and misery – although there is a big event that is quite sad – I cried even in the sweet happy moments. It was just one of those books. I have spent an inordinate amount of time wishing myself in to Jo Knowles brain so that I may nudge her in to making Harry’s a series. A never ending series. Christmas is a time for miracles, so who knows.

I’m always impressed by Knowles depth of characterisation; there are no cheap lines or trite words. Every pause, every word adds fullness to the character and means something to the reader.

Pleasantly surprised by:

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

On face value it’s a New Adult romance novel with a male protagonist. At it’s heart it is so much more. I was most impressed with SLN’s depiction of a family dynamic. Writers can often fall in to the category of making parents evil or neglectful to justify the teenage protagonist being at odds with them. Doller doesn’t fall on such tropes. She invests time in to fleshing out the complicated, and often contradictory, relationships children have with their parents.

Shadows by Paula Weston

I know I know, I’m only allowed one choice… but I’m a book rebel. Shadows was being gifted with tags such as Paranormal Romance and New Adult. I’m highly suspicious of both categories. Paranormal Romance is the IT category to write in over the last few Twi-years and as such found itself swimming in a books-gone-bad feel. New Adult is a category that is extremely new and I don’t feel anyone has really got a handle on yet. Is it about the protagonist’s age? Is it about college? What is New Adult. I’m not too sure I still know.

Regardless what Shadows finds itself labelled under, it distinguished itself with great writing, intriguing characters and an action-packed plot. I was engaged in every moment of the text, and I venture that your teenage audience will be too.

Most anticipated for 2013:

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis

I was pretty much a goner when I found the blurb description:

Take eleven-year-old Timmy Failure – the clueless, comically self-confident CEO of the best detective agency in town, perhaps even the nation. Add his impressively lazy business partner, a very large polar bear named Total. Throw in the Failuremobile – Timmy s mom s Segway – and what you have is Total Failure, Inc., a global enterprise destined to make Timmy so rich his mother won t have to stress out about the bills anymore. Of course, Timmy’s plan does not include the four-foot-tall female whose name shall not be uttered. And it doesn’t include Rollo Tookus, who is so obsessed with getting into “Stanfurd” that he can t carry out a no-brain spy mission. From the offbeat creator of Pearls Before Swine comes an endearingly bumbling hero in a caper whose peerless hilarity is accompanied by a whodunit twist.

So I went internet-stalking and found Timmy Failure’s facebook page and blog. I was in love!

 

*Other than Broken, my ’2012 Looking forward to’ pick from last year’s post, as I have already read and reviewed it on our website and wanted to showcase a greater range of 2012 reads.

 

 

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This time last year I was raving about John Flanagan’s new Brotherband series, and Margo Lanagan’s latest gut-punching fantasy, Sea Hearts (aka The Brides of Rollrock Island, for you overseas compatriots). I am still a vocal supporter of these titles, but I expect you to have read them by now. (You have, right? …Right?) So here’s some fresh ink to sink your eyeballs into, and get your giddy on over:

Great 2012 read:

Quintana of Charyn

Melina Marchetta

Quintana of Charyn is the sort of book you just want to hug, because not only do you love it but it loves you back. You laugh together, you cry together, and, most importantly, you spend quality time with characters you’ve been journeying with throughout Finnikin of the Rock and Froi of the Exiles. Marchetta gifts her readers an utterly satisfying (ie as perfectly devastating as it is heart-warming) finale in this last instalment in the Lumatere Chronicles. Full review here.

 

Pleasantly surprised by:

Fire in the Sea

Myke Bartlett

Does anyone else get that nervous little flutter in the pit of their stomach when they pick up a book by a debut author? What will it be like? Will their voice be fresh and original? Could this be love? Yes. Yes it is.

Fire in the Sea has the action and visual strength of a movie, and all the character depth and elegance you could hope for from the written word. It is fantasy as it should be – wild and bloody – which is why I’m thrilled that we’ve just announced Myke Bartlett will be one of the authors featured on our 2013 Reading Matters program.

Full book review here.

 

Most anticipated for 2013:

The Howling Boy

Cath Crowley

The Howling Boy is slated for release with Pan Macmillan in September 2013. It’s so far away, there isn’t even a cover image available yet. Or a synopsis. But that doesn’t mean I’m any less excited. It’s a new book from Cath.freaking.Crowley – author of the destined-to-be-a-classic Graffiti Moon. An author that just gets teenagers. And emotions. And life. (Or, at least, manages to write about them in a way that seems like she does.)

Apparently, The Howling Boy will be a mystery and a love story, with dual narrators. AND it will feature an appearance from Graffiti Moon‘s Ed and Lucy. Can I get a squee?

SQUEE.

 

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It’s that time of year again where I have to select my favourite child and cut the others adrift.  Actually, it’s not that bad but it feels as though I am cutting the rope.

And with that confession, I shall present to you all some of my favourite reads for this year and into the next.

Great 2012 read:

This Is Not A Test 

Courtney Summers

This young Canadian author has carved a name for herself with tense, high octane narratives that take the reader by the arm and forcibly pull them through a story … and make them enjoy it.  There are no half-truths to Summers’ writing, everything is raw and strained.  In This is Not a Test, she has altered her branded pace to a slow crawl and depicted the apocalyptic world through the eyes of a teen who has given up.  It’s a hard read in many ways, Sloane is in the depths of depression, isolation and grief and her world is muted, passive and sodden down…and then the zombies attack.

PanMacmillan

Pleasantly surprised by:

 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky

While I won’t pretend that the film has no bearing on me finally reading this cult classic, it sure did surprise me.  I can be a little (just a little) bit of an anti-hype monster and was reluctant to read Chbosky’s work.  I am so glad that I finally took the plunge.  Deceptively simple, this book creeps up on the reader, enveloping them and then spitting them out.  It’s heart jerking, smile inducing, tear invoking storytelling that makes you yearn for the mixed tapes and those friends of old that allowed you to float.

Simon & Schuster  

Most anticipated for 2013:

Just One Day

Gayle Forman

Forman burst onto the YA stage with If I Stay and followed it up with the thumping Where She Went, in this title she leaves Adam and Mia behind and presents us with the new.  In this case the new is Allyson who breaks the rules for the first time in her life.  Upon meeting the charming and mysterious Willem, she escapes to Paris for one perfect day, to find upon waking that he’s gone.  Forman’s not afraid to have her characters dance in the clouds as she loves to have them smash back to earth; it’s the recoil that makes it special.

Random House

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Writing about the afterlife isn’t easy. We all have ideas – from preconceived notions to fundamental beliefs – about what happens after death, and it can be confronting to be presented with an idea that’s different to your own. In Level 2 Lenore Appelhans not only presents us with her idea of the afterlife, but takes us on a sci-fi-esque adventure of the afterlife gone awry.

Felicia Ward is seventeen, dead, and disappointed in the afterlife. She spends her days in a world of white – wearing a white shift, in a white hive populated with other dead teenage girls. She doesn’t need to eat, she doesn’t need to sleep. Aside from the occasional conversation with her new Best Friends for the Afterlife, Veronica and Beckah, her only entertainment in the endless monotony is her pod:

‘Its basic function is to allow you to access and rent out your memories as well to rent the memories of others. When you access your own memories, you can tag them with labels. This is so you can find what you are looking for more easily but also so you an advertise your wares to others on the net.’

Felicia relives her favourite moments in life over and over again, in perfect detail. Most of these memories involve Neil, the boy she loved. The one thing Felicia hopes for most is that she might reconnect with Neil in the afterlife. She certainly doesn’t hope that Julian, the boy who ruined her life, the boy she’s been trying to forget, will find her. But he does. And he claims she is of the utmost importance to the impending rebellion…

If you think you can guess how the book ends, I’d love to make a bet with you to the contrary. Appelhans is, quite frankly, brilliant in her ability to keep the reader guessing. Clues and reveals are sprinkled throughout the book, raising more questions than bringing answers. It’s definitely a page turner - I couldn’t wait to find out what Level 2 is, what’s going on, and what will happen next. This is fortunate for Level 2, because I didn’t care about any of the characters. Had they been in a less compelling setting, I would have given up. Perhaps a side effect of Appelhans’ afterlife is that everyone’s personality is condensed down into a caricature? Regardless of intent, the stereotypical depictions, and excessive emotional angst did not appeal to me.

What is incredibly appealing about Level 2 is its mash-up of contemporary fiction, religion, and fantasy. Applehans achieves a very clever balance of the three, and Felicia’s past experiences are interwoven seamlessly into the present narrative. Her memories of attending church become invaluable tools in her afterlife adventures, yet Level 2 adds to this a dash of mythology and The Matrix, and, rest-assured, never falls into the trap of trying to preach to its audience. As a digital native, I particularly love Applehans incorporation of modern technology and social media into her imagining of the afterlife.

What I love most about Level 2, however, is its perspective on adversity. Three-quarters of the way through the story it clicked with me. I finally understood what Appelhans was trying to say about Felicia’s journey, and it resonated. Such a moment is magic, and deeply personal. It’s the difference between a good book, and a favourite book.

Level 2 is released in Australia on 2 January, 2013. I heartily recommend that you put some of your Christmas money aside to grab a copy.

Allen & Unwin

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1.  It’s Smugglivus!

If you are not familiar with the book blog, Book Smugglers, then there’s no way you’ve heard about the joy that is Smugglivus.  Imagine if you will, YA book bloggers from across the world, listing there best of’s and most anticipated at one of the best blogs on the block.  This event is the bee’s knees in keeping abreast of what has been fantastic in 2012 releases and what is getting many excited for 2013. Every taste is catered for so you are sure to stumble across something that piques your interest.  Each year I ended up with a book list that makes my wallet significantly lighter but my imagination deliciously happy.  Check it out!

2. A trained librarian is a powerful search engine

…with a heart.  This poster was used as part of the US Mass Lobby of Parliament for School Libraries in October.  The artist behind this wonderful poster, Sarah McIntyre, received plenty of interest in her work and has allowed it to be downloaded for free.

All she asks is that she’s made aware of where  her posters have been posted.  I think she would love to know that they are gracing libraries in Australia.

 

3. NSW Premier’s Literary Awards

It is with pleasure that we congratulate Penni Russon and Kate Constable on their success this weekend.  Russon won the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature ($30,000) for ‘Only Ever Always’.  Constable won the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature ($30,000) for ‘Crow Country’.  Congratulations to both authors and one very happy publisher in Allen and Unwin!

 

4.Now for a little art

…of the skin variety.  Flavorwire has posted what they claim to be “amazing tattoos inspired by children’s books”.  The lamp post spun my wheels – which one is your favourite?

 

5. Best of…

We are entering that time of year when every one seems to create a list of their favourite titles of the year.  Here are some to choose from:  Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly.  There will be more to come in the approaching weeks.

 

 

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 Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible. It seems as though everyone in her family has better things to do than pay attention to her: Mom (when she’s not meditating) helps Dad run “Harry’s,” the family restaurant; Sarah is taking a gap year after high school; Holden pretends that Mom and Dad and everyone else doesn’t know he’s gay, even as he fends off bullies at school. Then there’s Charlie: three years old, a “surprise” baby, the center of everyone’s world. He’s devoted to Fern, but he’s annoying, too, always getting his way, always dirty, always commanding attention. If it wasn’t for Ran, Fern’s calm and positive best friend, there’d be nowhere to turn. Ran’s mantra, “All will be well,” is soothing in a way that nothing else seems to be. And when Ran says it, Fern can almost believe it’s true. But then tragedy strikes-and Fern feels not only more alone than ever, but also responsible for the accident that has wrenched her family apart. All will not be well. Or at least all will never be the same.

I was beyond excited when I received this book (Adele picked it up in the States for me and it is hand signed by Jo Knowles… the excitement level is too big to be contained within this post), because Jo Knowles is one of my must-read authors. I was blown away by her debut novel Lessons from a Dead Girl, which I reviewed here. For me, she is essential reading.

I cannot tell you how odd I looked reading this book on the train. The cover all happy and light, while I sat in a vat of hot tears. The other commuters gave me a wide berth, to say the least.

A warning that my review will be riddled with spoilers – I’ve tried to write the review without spoilers and it just didn’t come together, or make much sense – so please do not read on if you wish to remain unspoiled. For those of you who will dash away from this review, before you go I’d implore you to put SYaH’s in your reading pile. It is a beautifully written book with a great cast of believable characters.

I did not want the book to end.

I was so engaged and enchanted with SYaH’s that once completed I spent my time imagining possible sequels and adventures for Fern. I want to be a part of Fern’s life. I want to check in with her as she grows up. I want to see her learn from life’s lesson. I want to see her family and friends again. I want to know if she’s passing maths. I want to know it all. I fell so deeply in love with the characters that I cannot ever imagine letting them go. SYaH’s became a friend. Is it weird to have a book as a friend? One who you laugh with; cry with; have in-jokes with.

I was surprised by the direction this book ended up taking. I thought the storyline would be a predictable arc, and that the real meat of the novel would be in the characters and their interactions. I was half right. Jo Knowles knows how to write characters you cannot help but love. It was the story arc that got me. I was completely unprepared for it, and as a consequence was the crazy commuter sobbing in carriage one.

You see, Jo Knowles had an older brother who was gay and sadly died of AIDS, and a classmate who committed suicide during high school. When Fern’s older brother, Holden, is bullied on the school bus I thought I knew where this story was going. I thought it was going to be a terribly sad tale of a boy who was ridiculed and abused for his sexuality, and who found solace in death. It is perhaps why I had such a reaction to this book, I was prepared for one tragedy but not another. You see, Holden doesn’t die. Instead the family wake one morning, just like any other morning, to find their youngest son, Charlie, dead in his bed. Sometime during the night he had suffered a massive brain aneurism. I cannot tell you how destroyed I felt. Knowles had captivated Charlie’s utter joy in life, he’s sweet innocence, the depth of he’s imagination, all by page 1. So I cried and cried and cried on that carriage. It was the shock that a character had given me joy for a 100 plus pages and that I would never read that joy again. I was heartbroken.

The rest of the story revolves around a family and their grieving process. Such a raw and painful process to view, but one that resonates with anyone who has lost a loved one.

Jo Knowles’ strength are her characters. Do you know that feeling you get when you’re just waking up, and your dream hasn’t quite left you yet, so reality is a green monkey’s with three heads (don’t ask, I have some odd dreams). That is a Jo Knowles book; a moment in between dream and reality, where I honestly believe with all my heart that Fern, Ran and Charlie are all alive out there, just waiting to be my friend.

I’m so unbelievably sad that they’re not real. That my reality isn’t Fern and co. But every time I open that book they do become real. I hope one of your teenagers walk away feeling like they made a friend too.

 

Walker Books

 

 

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On Tuesday evening YA enthusiasts crowded into the State Library of Victoria to find out what titles Australian publishers are celebrating from 2012, and looking forward to in 2013…

Bloomsbury Australia

H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden (June 2012)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (August 2012)
Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black (February 2013)
Hidden by Marianne Curley* (March 2013)

http://bloomsburyanz.com/

Ford Street Publishing

Riggs Crossing by Michelle Heeter* (September 2012)
Greylands by Isobelle Carmody* (October 2012)
Gamers’ Rebellion by George Ivanoff* (July 2013)
Far From Gallipoli by Pamela Rushby* (October 2013)

http://www.fordstreetpublishing.com/

PanMacmillan

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty* (October 2012)
Girl Defective by Simmone Howell* (March 2013)
Wildlife by Fiona Wood* (June 2013)
The Howling Boy by Cath Crowley* (September 2013)

http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/

Allen & Unwin

Unforgotten by Tohby Riddle* (September 2012)
Into That Forest by Louis Nowra* (September 2012)
When We Wake by Karen Healey (February 2013)
Interchange by Margaret Wild* (2013)

http://www.allenandunwin.com/

HarperCollins

The Horses Didn’t Come Home by Pamela Rushby* (March 2012)
Pennies for Hitler by Jackie French* (June 2012)
Refuge by Jackie French* (August 2013)
The Big Dry by Tony Davis* (September 2013)

http://www.harpercollins.com.au/

Walker Books

Love Notes from Vinegar House by Karen Tayleur* (May 2012)
Black Spring by Alison Croggon* (October 2012)
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis (March 2013)
Stagefright by Carole Wilkinson* (March 2013)

http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/

Scholastic

Ned Kelly’s Secret by Sophie Masson* (July 2012)
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (October 2012)
Joyous & Moonbeam by Richard Yaxley*(September 2013)
Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce (October 2013)

http://www.scholastic.com.au/

Penguin

The Farm by Emily McKay (November 2012)
Things A Map Won’t Show You edited by Susan La Marca & Pam Macintyre* (February 2012)
The First Third by William Kostakis* (May 2013)
Run by Tim Sinclair (April 2013)

http://www.penguin.com.au/

Hardie Grant Egmont

This Is Not A Drill by Bec McDowell (November 2012)
All The Wrong Questions by Lemony Snicket (October 2012)
Life In Outer Space by Melissa Keil* (February 2013)
The Phoenix Files: Doomsday by Chris Morphew* (June 2013)

http://www.hardiegrant.com.au/egmont

Text Publishing

Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield* (September 2012)
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead (September 2012)
Alex As Well by Alyssa Brugman* (February 2013)
Julius and the Watchmaker by Tim Hehir* (May 2013)

http://textpublishing.com.au/

Random House

The Shadow Girl by John Larkin*(2012)
Brave Heart by Brett & Hayley Kirk* (August 2012)
Steal My Sunshine by Emily Gale* (May 2013)
The Whole of My World by Nicole Hayes* (June 2013)

http://www.randomhouse.com.au/

Which 2012 titles have you already read? And which 2013 titles have piqued your curiosity? Personally, I’m having trouble deciding between Stephan Pastis’ (aka the genius behind Pearls Before Swine) Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, Tim Sinclair’s Run, and new books from Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell, Fiona Wood, and Tamora Pierce. Bring on 2013!

_________________________

* denotes an Australian author.

Note: The publishers listed were those that accepted our invitation.  They were asked to only present on four books – two from 2012, two to be launched in 2013.

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Haven’t yet made my way around to the Curseworkers series, but when I do I will be on the look out!

It is so much fun to see how other authors ‘view’ characters not of their making.

Love it!

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Holly Black also put Cassie Clares Jace into her Curseworkers series. He appears a few time at Cassels school where he comes across as a bit of a stoner. He spends a while watching a carrot rotate in a microwave in one of the books. I love these little nods to other books you can pick up!

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The Centre for Youth Literature presents

Reading Matters
30 May – 4 June 2013

Reading Matters is a Melbourne-based celebration of everything that’s unique and exciting in the world of youth literature: From storytelling impresarios to graphic novelists, insights into the narratives of games to debating the politics of YA fiction, this program is as diverse as the teen readers themselves.

Tickets are now on sale to join in this unique opportunity to meet and hear from popular international and Australian authors, as well the debut authors to watch out for, and to learn about current trends in YA across a suite of events:

• Student day (30 May) – a smorgasbord of authors within one program for students
• Unconference (30 May) – youth literature professionals share their programming ideas for young people
• Conference (31 May – 1 June) – sixteen authors share their worlds and craft over two days
• Beyond the Page (31 May) – our special evening event of fun and frivolity with our authors
• Regional tour (3 – 4 June)  – authors are taken out and away across Australia

For tickets and more information visit http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/reading-matters.

The Authors

The Centre for Youth Literature’s full Reading Matters program launches in February, but here’s a sneak peek of just five of the sixteen fabulous authors who will be gracing our program:

Gayle Forman is a Brooklyn based, award winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Elle. She burst onto the scene with the bestselling, contemporary titles If I Stay and Where She Went, books that are infused with passion, music and memorable characters.

 

Libba Bray is the New York Times bestselling author of The Gemma Doyle trilogy; the Printz Award-winning Going Bovine; Beauty Queens; and The Diviners series. She is originally from Texas but makes her home in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband, son, and two sociopathic cats.

 

Andrew McGahan debuted on the literary scene with The AustralianVogel Literary Award-winning Praise. In 2004 he won the Miles Franklin Literary Award for The White Earth. The Coming of the Whirlpool was the first title in his move into youth literature –the beginning of a swashbuckling series full of action and adventure.

 

Alison Croggon has published award-winning poetry, plays and an opera or two. She started writing fantasy in the late 90s, was nominated for two Aurealis awards in 2002, and reimagined the spooky moors of Brontë in her 2012 YA release Black Spring.

 

Myke Bartlett was born in Perth, and spent his first twenty years trying to escape. A trained journalist, Bartlett writes on politics, movies, pop culture and rock music for Australia’s best known cultural publications. His debut young adult novel Fire in the Sea won the 2011 Text Prize.

 

Program Launch – February 2013

We will announce another five guest names in January, and the final conference program will be revealed in early February. Stay tuned for all Reading Matters news by signing up for the Centre for Youth Literature’s enewsletter, where special conference accommodation deals will be launched.

 

Follow all the latest news on:

Facebook

Twitter – @centreyouthlit #YAmatters.

  

This event is brought to you by the Centre for Youth Literature, because Reading Matters.

 

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1. The discussion continues…

In last week’s Net News the debate on which books are appropriate for high school literature studies was raging.  Over the last few days this has morphed into a discussion on what place enjoyment of reading should play within the school curriculum.  The Centre for Youth Literature’s founder, Agnes Niewenhuzen wrote an opinion piece  ‘How our schools are robbing students of the joy of reading’ that passionately addressed the need for joy to be an important element in teaching to read, rather than the focus on the assessment.

Two young people also have their thoughts on the VCE debate at Lip Mag and Alpha Reader that are an interesting and well thought out.

Our Program Coordinator, Adele Walsh, also gave her two cents worth on Friday.  Look forward to regular opinion pieces from the Centre for Youth Literature in the new year.

2. Interactive fiction with Twine

Twine is a free resource that assists users in creating interactive fiction – a great means to ”… consider story structure, pacing and the motivations of characters”.  The Bright Ideas blog (a great way of styaing abreast of all the great technology for book-related fields) posits that it’s a worthwhile tool to create visual representations of narrative.  We recommended checking out the full benefits of this tool, and the Bright Ideas blog.

3. Richard Glover on why reading matters

ABC states this author’s discussion covers “… reading, its role as a “gymnasium of empathy” and its impact on social change. Along the way, there are mentions of Tolstoy, Caitlin Moran, Jeanette Winterson, PG Wodehouse, the debate over Shakespeare’s authorship and the utility of what is sometimes discounted as “book learning”.”

Definitely worth the fifteen minute watch.

4.  Look familiar?

Some young adult covers can be less that impressive but what about those ones that have you saying “I know HER”?  Huffington Post has collated a series of titles where the model is someone very familiar to us.  I don’t think Debbie Harry really got ahead (pun intended) on this one.

5.  Read-a-likes

The lovely Emily Gale and Holly Harper over at Readings have compiled a great list of read-a-likes for teen readers.  From video gamers, to creepy and crawlies, to contemporary reads, they have you covered.

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