CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus

Have you caught up with the debate in the UK sparked by comments this week by Anne Fine at the Edinburgh International Book Festival? We have tweeted some of the links, but to recap, the former Children’s Laureate ‘deplored’ the gritty realism of many books today:

…cosy tales in which children’s characters looked forward to future adventures had been replaced by gritty stories that offered no hope for their weary protagonists.Contemporary literature is dauntingly bleak, with depressing endings that do little to inspire.

As someone pointed out The Road of Bones is hardly the cheeriest of reads.

But this is an argument that pops up regularly. We blogged about it a couple of months ago in a US context. Anne Fine must have known that the battle lines would be drawn.

And indeed they have. Arguments are being tossed around but not too many support her point of view. Some Welsh authors appear to, though.

Children can handle the realism, says one commentator. The horror is necessary, says another. And while we are at it,  let’s cheer up the classics.

Darkness in children’s literature has a long tradition. And the debates will continue to rage.

Bet you didn’t know. Nor did we until nudged by teen librarian.

This is the brainchild of The Book Smugglers and from July 19 to August 15 their blog will be devoted to all things YA :

For the duration of the month, we will be discussing the merits of the genre, the apparent boom of YA literature, and the crossover appeal of YA novels. Guest authors and bloggers will be talking about their reasons for writing and reading YA and how the genre differs from books written for an adult audience.

They want all YA-focused bloggers to participate. They tweet, too.

YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association of the ALA, has released its 2009 selection of the best books of the year for young adult readers (BBYA).

Although weighted towards North American titles, there is a smattering of authors from other places, including our own Margo Lanagan for Tender Morsels, Melina Marchetta for [On the] Jellicoe Road and Juliet Marillier for Cybele’s Secret.

This list is always a useful guide to help develop a YA fiction collection.

Remember this? It’s where we pondered on the nature of YA in the context of Into White Silence.

The author has added to the discussion in a long and well-considered post on his Goodreads blog. For which we thank him. Let’s keep talking, folks. This is an important one.

I can say this: When I wrote Into White Silence, I never for a moment doubted that it would be published as ‘young adult fiction.’ This belief was, in part, because of the realities of the publishing world and the joys of having a profile as a ‘young adult’ author, but also, to a large degree, because it was the sort of story I’d have connected with at 15 or 16 years of age. I didn’t write it for teenagers, though. Nor did I write it for adults. I wrote it for myself, purely and simply.

Thanks Anthony.

Now where have we heard all this before? From the Wall Street Journal. This conversation is at least 20 years old.

Not so long ago, we were musing about what defines a YA novel in the context of Anthony Eaton’s fine novel Into White Silence. We also linked to a few discussions on the topic.

Here’s another one: Children’s book editor Cheryl Klein has posted a thoughtful blog seeking a practical definition and her ideas are provoking a lively discussion. Join in if you feel this is a conversation worth having.

Thanks to the marvellous Monica Edinger for the lead.

Have just finished Anthony Eaton’s Into White Silence. Terrific read. Clever writing. On the short list for Older Readers in the 2009 CBCA Awards, and it’s not hard to see why.

But the novel (it combines fact and fiction but is in no way ‘faction’)  raises a question. What is it that defines this book as YA? Sure, Eaton has written YA novels before, and very good ones too. Sure, the publishers have entered this title in the CBCA Awards in this category so there’s no problem that it’s made the short list. It was entered, it’s good, it’s shortlisted.

But again there’s that question. What makes this a YA title rather than an adult one? Young adults will certainly enjoy it – it’a page turner. But so will a reader of any age who enjoys a historical mystery, a thriller, a journal, anything about Antarctica.

Unlike another award-winning Antarctic title, Geraldine McCaughrean’s The White Darkness, Eaton’s novel has no youthful protagonist. The narration is cleverly shared by Eaton speaking as himself and the 1921/22 journal of William Downes, aged 25.

So is a protagonist in the YA age group really necessary in a YA novel? We know that there are plenty of novels with young protagonists that are not intended for the YA audience. Especially lately. And we know that some titles are published in the YA market in one country, adult in another. The Book Thief springs to mind.

A quick search shows that this question is being asked more and more. There’s plenty if you look, but try here, here, here, here (and going back a bit), here for starters. The boundaries are becoming blurred and it looks as if we can expect more ‘crossover’ titles hitting the shelves. Surely no bad thing? Isn’t it all about the writing?

Lawrinson, that is, not Gillard. Julia has a letter published in today’s Review section of The Australian in response to last week’s article on YA literature. Unfortunately, these letters, unlike those in the main section of the papers, don’t seem to be online.

Julia, if you are out there, please give me the nod, and I will copy it faithfully here for FF blog readers.

Note (28/9/08): Thanks Julia for putting a copy of the letter to Review in the comments.

Hop over to the Inside a Dog website to see the titles of the 20 books that have been named on the long list for the Inky Awards.

The ten Australian and ten overseas contenders will be whittled down to 3 of each on 12 September, and the winner of the Golden Inky (Australian) and Silver Inky (overseas) will be announced on 6 November.

All the guidelines are on the web page but voting is restricted to those aged between 12 and 18 and can be done by SMS or email. Readers worldwide are encouraged to participate.

Such a strong long list presents many opportunities for English teachers and Teacher Librarians to promote wide reading.  All are compelling reads so the selection of the short list will not be easy.

The site also has details of a Creative Reading competition and information for teachers and librarians.

This is the second year of the Inkys.

Issue 2 of Fiction Focus has just arrived back from the printer and will be winging its way to subscribers in time for the Olympics. Yes, this one is a topical issue with a feature on China and YA reading. Watch out for it – two copies will be arriving in WA Government schools via the Principal and individual subscribers should receive theirs next week.

Meanwhile, here’s the cover.