DOCSLIB.ORG

SCBWI New England

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
SCBWI New England September - October 2014 the society of children’s book writers illustrators New EnglandN& ews NESCBWI representatives at the Upcoming NESCBWI Events LA Summer conference in August. September 25 Read about it inside! “Creating Cross-cultural Books” Free - register at [email protected] Stacy Mozer, Assisitant September 27 (9:00 am – 4:00 pm), Encore! Regional Advisor & Critique Group Coordinator 2014, Rhode Island College, Providence RI. Kathy Quimby Johnson, Co-Regional Advisor Sold out! Denise Ortakales, Co-Illustrator Coordinator NESCBWI 2015 Conference April 24-26, 2015! 1 What’s Inside! The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators New England Who’s Who page 2 NESCBWI Resources page 3 The LA Story - the Summer Conference page 4 Updated Market Report page 6 The James Marshall Fellowship Inspires page 11 Mamber News page 12 Updated Critique Groups page 15 The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators New England Who’s Who Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nescbwi NESCBWI C0-Regional Advisors Conference Directors [email protected] At-large & Conference Director Marilyn Salerno [email protected] Kristine C. Asselin 2013-14 19 Francine Drive Holliston, MA 01746 Natasha Sass 2014-15 Marilyn Salerno Co-Regional Advisor Southern NE (CT, RI) Sally Riley [email protected] Email List Organizer Sally Riley Central NE (MA) [email protected] Margo Lemieux [email protected] New England Illustrator Coordinators Northern NE (ME, NH, VT) Denise Ortakales Kathy Quimby Johnson Ruth Sanderson [email protected] NEWS Staff Assistant Regional Advisor Editor-in-Chief J. L. Bell [email protected] Margo Lemieux Box 583 Assistant Regional Advisor & Critique Group Mansfield, MA 02048 Coordinator Stacy [email protected] Market News Editor J. L. Bell [email protected] Assistant Regional Advisor & Webmaster Greg Fishbone Member News Editor Kate Lynch Assistant Regional Advisor [email protected] Francine Puckly Calendar Editor PAL Coordinator A. M. M. Childs Kristine C. Asselin [email protected] Marketing Coordinator Linda Crotta Brennan The NEWS is available to all SCBWI members through www.newengland.scbwi.org/ The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators New England is a chapter of the international organization and divided into three regions. See scbwi.org for more information. Articles and events listed in the NEWS are for your information only and, except for SCBWI sponsored events, should not be considered an endorsement. The New England region is an all-volunteer organization. To volunteer, please email your regional advisor. Original artwork and articles are property of their creators and may be reproduced only with their written permission. 2 NESCBWI Resources Kathy Quimby Johnson Where to Find…. The web, the net, the interwebz—whatever you call it, it’s vast. That means it’s hard to know where to start when you want to find information (“What’s the theme for the next New England SCBWI conference?” or get the word out (“I’m doing a signing at…”). New England SCBWI offers multiple resources, but some of them have been around long enough that it’s worth a brief review. Social Media: • Facebook: “Like” https://www.facebook.com/nescbwi to keep up with official New England SCBWI events, from the annual conference (and the call for proposals) and Crystal Kite voting to retreats, workshops, Encores, etc. Newsletter availability is also posted here. • Twitter: @nescbwi and #nescbwi also offers information about events. The listserv: The New England listserv is one of the most interactive places for members. This is where you can post your writing events—signings, bookstore appearances—and make announcements such as agents acquired or books sold. It’s also the place to look for a roommate for or a ride to the New England conference or encore or a New England SCBWI workshop. • To join the listserv you will need to have a Yahoo account or a gmail address. Sign into Yahoo (yahoo.com) and go to: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/nescbwi/info. The listserv is available in digest form, which minimizes the number of daily emails you receive. **If you are looking for a critique group, either email Critique Group Coordinator Stacy Mozer at [email protected] or visit nescbwicritiques.blogspot.com. To assure that you receive email announcements of the bimonthly newsletter and other occasional communications, make sure your name is included on our regional email list. The link for that is available on our website’s resource page: http://newengland.scbwi.org/ resources/ That brings me to the most important point of all: Visit us on the web. Nescbwi.org is available when you log in to scbwi.org. While you are at scbwi.org, please also take the opportunity to update your member profile, especially your email address. That way you’ll stay informed about what’s going on in our very busy region. You’ll find your region on your member profile page. One click and you’ll find yourself at the New England home page. Useful links are on the right, including one to “Resources,” where you’ll find more detailed information about many of the resources listed here. 3 LA Story—SCBWI 2014 Stacy Mozer, Denise Ortakales & Kathy Quimby Johnson Kathy: New England SCBWI was represented by Co-RA Kathy Quimby Johnson, IC Denise Ortakales, and Assistant RA and Critique Group Coordinator Stacy Mozer at the 2014 SCBWI Conference in LA. We spread ourselves widely in order to be able to report back as much as possible about the conference, but made sure to get together for our regional social, held in a green corner near the pool. (See Stacy’s section for details.) Highlights for writers included a number of inspiring keynotes (Denise covers the highlights for illustrators below). Meg Rosoff and Stephen Chbosky were both high-energy and touched on common themes that can be summed up best by Rosoff’s closing line: “Our job is to write the fiercest, strongest, most subversive story we can tell.” Chbosky would add, we should do so without thinking about the marketplace because the works that last are unique and may take time to find their audience—that’s certainly what happened with Perks of Being a Wallflower. Linda Sue Park offered tips for revision at the language level that apply to all writers, but are especially helpful for those who write picture books that must, as she said, “be worth reading 62 times.” The industry insights offered throughout the weekend can be summed up in these words from Justin Chanda: “We are all in this together.” In his overview of the state of the industry, Chanda also emphasized that whether we’re talking Common Core, the need for diversity, or rising picture book sales (again, see Denise’s contribution below), the story has to come first. Demonstrating negotiations between editors and agents, Alessandra Balzer and Steve Malk emphasized the importance of everyone feeling good at the end of the process, because all parties will be working together in the future, a point Deborah Halverson touched on in her Market Survey, who also noted that ebook sales are strongest in the YA market. I attended outstanding writing workshops, including Jill Santopolo’s on theater exercises that help writers assess if characters are fully developed and Arthur Levine’s on taking (and giving) critique—clear communication is key. Tim Federle offered great advice with his “Ten Things Nobody Tells You About Being a Debut Author,” as did Erin Murphy on “Navigating Your Publishing Debut.” As an added bonus for New England SCBWI, Murphy made frequent reference to Linda Mullaly Hunt’s One for the Murphy’s. Denise: Illustrators were well represented in Los Angeles with Judy Schachner and Aaron Becker as keynote speakers. One of the highlights was an insight into Judy’s brain and her use of a character bible--a sketchbook of character drawings that she collages random pictures into. When she’s stuck, the random collision of dissimilar imagery sparks her creativity. She has multiple character bibles she’s working on at any given time. We were able to question her more about it during her workshop “Putting the Kid in Kitten”. Aaron Becker gave several talks over the conference, giving us several vantage points into his process, from working on a wordless picture book to where he gets his inspiration from. Selina Yoon presented several workshops on concept books, and novelty and board books. Her dummies for her submissions were so impressive that she admitted some disappointment in seeing the final printed book. Laurent Linn, Art Director for Simon & Schuster, talked about illustrating for middle grade novels and showed examples of the projects he has worked on. You should definitely add him to your mailing list if you are interested in illustrating chapter books and middle grade novels. 4 The theme of the Illustrators’ Intensive was “From Admiration to Adaptation: Transforming Visual Inspiration to Expand Your Work.” Nick Clark, curator of the Eric Carle Museum, presented examples of children’s book illustration inspired from fine art. Pat Cummings gave a demonstration of her watercolor techniques, and Judy Schachner demoed her use of expressive line. Peter Brown talked about where he finds his artistic inspiration. The day ended with a critique of an optional assignment: an illustration created using an outside influence. A fun day of talking art with artists. The good news for illustrators that came from the conference is that picture books are seeing a steady rise as are heavy-illustrated chapter and middle grade novels. From the looks of the portfolios at the portfolio display, there are many competent illustrators to fill that need. Stacy The Regional Social and Taking the Conference Home On Saturday, Kathy, Denise, and I grabbed a spot by the pool in order to meet members from New England.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • John Newbery Award Committee Manual
    JOHN NEWBERY AWARD COMMITTEE MANUAL October 2009 John Newbery Award Committee Manual – Formatted August 2015 1 FOREWORD John Newbery The Newbery Medal is named for John Newbery (1713-1767), known as the first publisher of books for children. The son of a farmer, he married a widow who owned a printing business in Reading, England. They moved to London and, in 1743, Newbery published “A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, intended for the Instruction and Amusement of Little Master Tommy and Pretty Miss Polly, with an agreeable Letter to read from Jack the Giant-Killer, as also a Ball and a Pincushion, the use of which will infallibly make Tommy a good Boy and Polly a good Girl.” Although this was not the first book published for children (A Play-Book for Children was published by “J.G.” as early as 1694), Newbery was the first person to take children’s book publishing seriously, and many of his methods were copied by other authors and publishers. Newbery was an admirer of John Locke, who advocated teaching children through “some easy pleasant book, suited to his capacity.” Newbery’s books invariably had their didactic side, but he tempered instruction with a sense of humor. Works like Goody Two-Shoes, in which a poor but virtuous young woman is rewarded with riches, satisfied the moralists while providing a story with all the ups and downs of a modern soap opera. Other books on Newbery’s list included Aesop’s Fables, books of history and science, miscellanies, and even a children’s magazine, The Lilliputian Magazine, which contained stories, riddles, and songs.
    [Show full text]
  • Book Self-Publishing Best Practices
    Montana Tech Library Digital Commons @ Montana Tech Graduate Theses & Non-Theses Student Scholarship Fall 2019 Book Self-Publishing Best Practices Erica Jansma Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtech.edu/grad_rsch Part of the Communication Commons Book Self-Publishing Best Practices by Erica Jansma A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M.S. Technical Communication Montana Tech 2019 ii Abstract I have taken a manuscript through the book publishing process to produce a camera-ready print book and e-book. This includes copyediting, designing layout templates, laying out the document in InDesign, and producing an index. My research is focused on the best practices and standards for publishing. Lessons learned from my research and experience include layout best practices, particularly linespacing and alignment guidelines, as well as the limitations and capabilities of InDesign, particularly its endnote functionality. Based on the results of this project, I can recommend self-publishers to understand the software and distribution platforms prior to publishing a book to ensure the required specifications are met to avoid complications later in the process. This document provides details on many of the software, distribution, and design options available for self-publishers to consider. Keywords: self-publishing, publishing, books, ebooks, book design, layout iii Dedication I dedicate this project to both of my grandmothers. I grew up watching you work hard, sacrifice, trust, and love with everything you have; it was beautiful; you are beautiful; and I hope I can model your example with a fraction of your grace and fruitfulness. Thank you for loving me so well.
    [Show full text]
  • The 2021 Guide to Manuscript Publishers
    Publish Authors Emily Harstone Authors Publish The 2021 Guide to Manuscript Publishers 230 Traditional Publishers No Agent Required Emily Harstone This book is copyright 2021 Authors Publish Magazine. Do not distribute. Corrections, complaints, compliments, criticisms? Contact [email protected] More Books from Emily Harstone The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submission Submit, Publish, Repeat: How to Publish Your Creative Writing in Literary Journals The Authors Publish Guide to Memoir Writing and Publishing The Authors Publish Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Publishing Courses & Workshops from Authors Publish Workshop: Manuscript Publishing for Novelists Workshop: Submit, Publish, Repeat The Novel Writing Workshop With Emily Harstone The Flash Fiction Workshop With Ella Peary Free Lectures from The Writers Workshop at Authors Publish The First Twenty Pages: How to Win Over Agents, Editors, and Readers in 20 Pages Taming the Wild Beast: Making Inspiration Work For You Writing from Dreams: Finding the Flashpoint for Compelling Poems and Stories Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 13 Nonfiction Publishers.................................................................................................. 19 Arcade Publishing ..................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Independent Scholar Shivaun Plozza the Troll Under the Bridge
    Plozza The troll under the bridge Independent scholar Shivaun Plozza The troll under the bridge: should Australian publishers of young adult literature act as moral-gatekeepers? Abstract: In the world of Young Adult Literature, the perceived impact of certain texts on the moral, social and psychological development of its readers is a cause for debate. The question ‘what is suitable content for a pre-adult readership’ is one guaranteed to produce conflicting, polarising and impassioned responses. Within the context of this debate, the essay explores a number of key questions. Do publishers have a moral obligation to avoid certain topics or should they be pushing the boundaries of teen fiction further? Is it the role of the publisher to consider the impact of books they publish to a teenage audience? Should the potential impact of a book on its reader be considered ahead of a book’s potential to sell and make money? This article analyses criticism and praise for two ‘controversial’ Australian Young Adult books: Sonya Hartnett’s Sleeping Dogs (1997) and John Marsden’s Dear Miffy (1997). It argues that ‘issues-books’ are necessary to the development of teens, and publishers should continue to push the envelope of teen fiction while ensuring they make a concerted effort to produce quality, sensitive and challenging books for a teen market. Biographical note: Shivaun Plozza is a project editor, manuscript assessor and writer of YA fiction. Her debut novel, Frankie, is due for publication by Penguin in early 2016. She has published short stories, poetry and articles in various journals, both online and print, and has won numerous awards and fellowships.
    [Show full text]
  • The Success and Ambiguity of Young Adult Literature: Merging Literary Modes in Contemporary British Fiction Virginie Douglas
    The Success and Ambiguity of Young Adult Literature: Merging Literary Modes in Contemporary British Fiction Virginie Douglas To cite this version: Virginie Douglas. The Success and Ambiguity of Young Adult Literature: Merging Literary Modes in Contemporary British Fiction. Publije, Le Mans Université, 2018. hal-02059857 HAL Id: hal-02059857 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02059857 Submitted on 7 Mar 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Abstract: This paper focuses on novels addressed to that category of older teenagers called “young adults”, a particularly successful category that is traditionally regarded as a subpart of children’s literature and yet terminologically insists on overriding the adult/child divide by blurring the frontier between adulthood and childhood and focusing on the transition from one state to the other. In Britain, YA fiction has developed extensively in the last four decades and I wish to concentrate on what this literary emergence and evolution has entailed since the beginning of the 21st century, especially from the point of view of genre and narrative mode. I will examine the cases of recognized—although sometimes controversial—authors, arguing that although British YA fiction is deeply indebted to and anchored in the pioneering American tradition, which proclaimed the end of the Romantic child as well as that of the compulsory happy ending of the children’s book, there seems to be a recent trend which consists in alleviating the roughness, the straightforwardness of realism thanks to elements or touches of fantasy.
    [Show full text]
  • TEXAS Library JOURNAL
    TexasLibraryJournal VOLUME 88, NUMBER 1 • SPRING 2012 INCLUDES THE BUYERS GUIDE to TLA 2012 Exhibitors TLA MOBILE APP Also in this issue: Conference Overview, D-I-Y Remodeling, and Branding Your Professional Image new from texas Welcome to Utopia Notes from a Small Town By Karen Valby Last Launch Originally published by Spiegel Discovery, Endeavour, Atlantis and Grau and now available in By Dan Winters paperback with a new afterword Powerfully evoking the and reading group guide, this unquenchable American spirit highly acclaimed book takes us of exploration, award-winning into the richly complex life of a photographer Dan Winters small Texas town. chronicles the $15.00 paperback final launches of Discovery, Endeavour, and Atlantis in this stunning photographic tribute to America’s space Displaced Life in the Katrina Diaspora shuttle program. Edited by Lynn Weber and Lori Peek 85 color photos This moving ethnographic ac- $50.00 hardcover count of Hurricane Katrina sur- vivors rebuilding their lives away from the Gulf Coast inaugurates The Katrina Bookshelf, a new series of books that will probe the long-term consequences of Inequity in the Friedrichsburg America’s worst disaster. A Novel The Katrina Bookshelf, Kai Technopolis By Friedrich Armand Strubberg Race, Class, Gender, and the Digital Erikson, Series Editor Translated, annotated, and $24.95 paperback Divide in Austin illustrated by James C. Kearney $55.00 hardcover Edited by Joseph Straubhaar, First published in Jeremiah Germany in 1867, Spence, this fascinating Zeynep autobiographical Tufekci, and novel of German Iranians in Texas Roberta G. immigrants on Migration, Politics, and Ethnic Identity Lentz the antebellum By Mohsen M.
    [Show full text]
  • OELMA Web.Version 11.08.Pmd
    Fall 2007 Vol. 59, No. 1 1 Contents NCLB & The SKILLS ACT .............................................................................................4 NCLB & The No Child Left Inside Act ........................................................................5 Media Literacy by Frank Baker ................................................................................6 The Marantz Picture Book Collection Moves to Kent State University ...................8 The Story Box Project .............................................................................................10 The Big Read: an urban middle school “Big Read” Project illustrates the power of story .....................................................................................................................13 Bringing science concepts to life with literature ...................................................17 Got Rocks? The U.S. Polar Rock Repository does! Read about a unique educa- tional resource...................................................................................................21 The International Baccalaureate Programme and the School Librarian .............23 Call for Articles ........................................................................................................28 School Librarians Rock! Librarians’ powerful impact on literacy develop- ment....................................................................................................................29 Interactive Whiteboards and Clickers in the Classroom .......................................37
    [Show full text]
  • EM3 LIT Cross Cur Links Format 09-21-09 Sap
    4th Grade Everyday Mathematics Cross-Curricular Literature Links EVERYDAY MATHEMATICS TITLE AUTHOR PUBLISHER, YEAR LESSON(S) Math Curse Scieszka, John Viking Children's, 2007 1.1 When a Line Ends…A Shape Begins Greene, Rhonda Gowler Sandpiper, 2001 1.2 Gregory and the Magic Line* Piggot, Dawn Orion, 2004 1.2 Shape Up! Adler, David A. Holiday House, 2000 1.3 The Greedy Triangle Burns, Marily Scholastic, 1995 1.5 Ed Emberley's Picture Pie: A Cut and Paste Drawing Book Emberley, Ed Little Brown, 2006 1.6 How Tall, How Short, How Far Away? Adler, David A. Holiday House, 2000 2.1 12 Ways to Get to 11 Merriam, Eve Aladdin Paperbacks, 1996 2.2 The History of Counting Schmandt-Besserat, Denise HarperCollins, 1999 2.3 If You Made a Million Schwartz, David M. HarperTrophy, 1994 2.3, 5.8 My Full Moon is Square Pinczes, Elinor J. Houghton Mifflin, 2002 3.2 Sea Squares Hulme, Joy N. Hyperion Books for Children, 1999 3.2 Count Your Way through the Arab World Jim Haskins Lerener Publishing Group, 1988 3.6 Each Orange Had Eight Slices: A Counting Book Giganti, Paul Jr. Greenwillow Books, 1999 3.2, 12.2 Safari Park Murphy, Stuart J. HarperCollins Publishers, 2002 3.5 Nine O'Clock Lullaby Singer, Marilyn HarperCollins, 1993 3.6 Kids' Funniest Jokes Barry, Shelia Anne Sterling Publishing Co., 1994 4.3 The Everything Kids' Joke Book: Side-Splitting, Rib-Tickling Fun Dahl, Michael Adams Media Corporation, 2001 4.3 Inchworm and a Half Pinczes, Elinor J. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003 4.8 Millions to Measure Schwartz, David M.
    [Show full text]
  • Fabjob Guide to Become a Book Publisher
    Start your own publishing company! FabJob Guide to Become a Book Publisher Jennifer Fishberg Visit www.FabJob.com FabJob Guide to Become a Book Publisher Contents About the Author .............................................................................8 Acknowledgements .........................................................................9 1. Introduction ..........................................................................................10 1.1 The Book Publishing Business ....................................................12 1.1.1 What Is Independent Publishing? ....................................12 1.1.2 Industry Trends and Statistics ..........................................15 1.2 Benefits of Being a Book Publisher ............................................17 1.3 Inside This Guide .........................................................................20 2. Getting Ready .......................................................................................23 2.1 Skills and Knowledge You Will Need .......................................23 2.1.1 Writing Skills .......................................................................24 2.1.2 Computer and Technology Skills .....................................25 2.1.3 Research Skills .....................................................................27 2.1.4 Interpersonal Skills .............................................................29 2.1.5 Business Skills .....................................................................31 2.2 Learning by Doing .......................................................................34
    [Show full text]
  • An Alpha-Number-Bet Event Kit
    An Alpha-number-bet Event Kit by TINY DiTERLOONEY Dear Bookseller, Teacher, or Librarian, Welcome to G is for One Gzonk! A book thought up by me. I am the author and artist (as soon you’ll plainly see) of an alphabet of creachlings! A twenty-six-letter menagerie! But I must confess, as you may have guessed, It won’t teach you A, B, C. Angry Acks, blue Bloobytacks, and Cootie Noodles dwell within these pages. And activities based on numbers and letters for kids of all ages! W ITHIN THIS EVENT KIT, YOU WILL FIND: • Twenty-seventh Letter of the Alphabet • Bloobytack Memory • Who’s the Hoofle-Foofle? • Mighty Mee-Yighty Maze • Yellow Yummel-Yum Puzzles • G is for One Gzonk Silly Straws giveaway • G is for One Gzonk Name Tag stickers • Answer Key So enjoy, have fun, And let yourself be silly! Until we meet again, Tiny DiTerlooney (a.k.a. Tony DiTerlizzi) a.k.a. means “also known as” G is for One Gzonk! ISBN-13: 978-0-689-85290-9 ISBN-10: 0-689-85290-8 $16.95/$19.95 CAN Release date: 9/12/06 G is for One Gzonk! Flash Cards Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-4115-6 Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing ISBN-10: 1-4169-4115-0 $12.99/$16.99 CAN www.SimonSaysKids.com • www.diterlizzi.com Release date: 10/16/06 REPRODUCIBLE Illustrations © 2006 by Tony DiTerlizzi by TINY DiTERLOONEY SUGGESTED EVENT SCHEDULE 672 hours ahead (or one month ahead) • Pick a date and time for your event.
    [Show full text]
  • Small Presses in the 21 Century Exploring Independent Publishing
    Small Presses in the 21st Century Exploring Independent Publishing Houses and the Communities They Build by Katherine Kosinski A thesis presented for the B.A. degree with Honors in The Department of English University of Michigan Winter 2012 © 2012 Katherine Kosinski Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor Petra Kuppers for all the support she has given me in the course of the thesis experience; it was truly invaluable. She succeeded in giving me constructive and helpful advice while keeping me on track emotionally and academically. I would also like to thank Jennifer Wenzel. The editing and guidance she performed over the course of the year were definitely integral to the completion of my thesis. Many other people have aided me during my thesis writing, and as such I would like to thank. John Whittier-Ferguson, Brian Whitener, Paulina Alberto, Paloma Celis Carbajal, Steven Gillis, Dan Wickett, Lucy Hartley, Tung-Hui “Hui-Hui” Hu, the Cartonera publishers in Latin America, the English Honors 2012 Cohort, and the Dossin Family. All helped me in with my research, the organization of my thesis, or simply lent a supportive hand in a time of need. Finally, I would like to thank my mother, Alice Kosinski, for encouraging me throughout the entire journey. © Abstract The publishing industry has been labeled as being in a time of flux in the years following the turn of the 21st century; its future is considered uncertain and as such, rumors of demise and great change abound. This thesis works to calm fears and worries of the digital transition of literature by documenting the work of certain small presses in this time of change.
    [Show full text]
  • The Death of Genre: Why the Best YA Fiction Often Defies Classification
    LoriScot Goodson Smith & Jim Blasingame The Death of Genre: Why the Best YA Fiction Often Defies Classification few years ago, I received a phone call from a adding a list called genre-busters, novels which do not desperate sixth grade reading teacher. “Help!” easily fit into a single category. The more I think about Ashe cried, “I have a literary mutiny on my my YA favorite titles of the past few years, the more hands. I need your help now!!” I immediately raced bewildered I become. Zusak’s The Book Thief— upstairs. historical fiction or fantasy? Anderson’s The Astonish- Our sixth graders read Louis Sachar’s Holes as a ing Life of Octavian Nothing—historical fiction or required novel. The teacher uses Holes as part of her science fiction? Rosoff’s How I Live Now?—realistic unit on fantasy. In a time where many middle fiction or science fiction? Shusterman’s The Schwa schoolers are steeped in Harry Potter and Paolini, Was Here—realistic fiction or fantasy? I have come to Holes just did not seem to fit into that the same the realization that genre might be dead, that many of category of fantasy. recently published YA novels no longer fit into the “Mr. Smith,” they argued, “It can’t be fantasy. It’s predictable categories we typically designate for too real.” books. Is it time to despair? I think not. Rather, let us What followed was a long discussion about the celebrate the innovative fashion in which today’s YA different types of fantasy. We debated over the effects authors are bending the traditional definitions of of rattlesnake nail polish, the existence of yellow genre.
    [Show full text]