23 Just For Fun Kids’ Books
Tired of kids’ books that are good for you? Grab something off this list of wacky, touching, zany, gross, and generally feel good books. Some are trashy (Gossip Girl), some are addictive (A Series of Unfortunate Events), and some are outright disgusting (Unmentionable). This list was compiled with the help of the NESCBWI yahoo group and a few good friends. Full disclosure: I have not read all these–yet! But I’ll be making a trip to the book store later today… Want to suggest...
Read MoreYA Market: If Teens Aren’t Tweeting, Why Are We?
Authors should blog. Authors should get on Facebook and set up fan pages. Authors should tweet. And many YA authors do, setting up themed blogs, tweeting their favorite books, putting up book trailers and extra content. But just who is the content reaching? According to a recent study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, teen blogging and tweeting are down. Interestingly, the researchers list teens as 12 – 17 years old and young adults as the 18 – 29 set. Key facts from...
Read MoreApple vs. Amazon, the War on e-Book Pricing and the YA Market
E-books have been around for some time–Michael S. Hart began the Gutenberg Project in 1971 (to put this in perspective, e-books were available eight years before the Pink Floyd classic, Another Brick in the Wall). Selling e-books and e-content, however, is relatively new. The first pay-model e-book sites appeared around 1999. At the same time, science fiction and fantasy publisher Baen opened up the Baen Free Library. Major publishers didn’t hop on the e-wagon until 2002, when Random...
Read MoreReading YA: Are Fast-Paced Novels Engaging?
(This post grew out of a discussion on my friend Livia’s blog.) In recent years, there’s been a lot of chatter about attention spans. Increased television watching among preteens has been blamed for a rise in ADD/ADHD. Parents are encouraged to read to younger children, or get older kids reading as a first step in engaging their minds. But what if the books we so blithely hand around don’t engage? What if they’re too fast, too short, too thoughtless? Many modern YA novels are quick...
Read MoreInkpop: A Virtual Slush Pile
Yesterday, HarperCollins Children’s Books launched inkpop, “an interactive writing platform and community for teenagers”. From PW: Inkpop had a soft launch in late 2009 and currently boasts more than 10,000 members ages 13 and up, and 11,000 written submissions, which include novels, short stories, poetry, and essays. An editorial board of Harper editors will review the top five member selections each month, offering feedback on their work as well as, potentially, the possibility of...
Read MoreNew Adult Fiction – Beyond the Limits of YA, or Just New Packaging?
Earlier this week, I asked about the limits in YA literature. Is there a line? And if so, where is it? St. Martins’ Press may have the answer. Late last year, they ran a contest in conjunction with #YAlitchat founder, Georgia McBride, to find some New Adult, or NA, titles. From McBride’s blog: We are actively looking for great, new, cutting edge fiction with protagonists who are slightly older than YA and can appeal to an adult audience. Since twenty-somethings are devouring YA, St....
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