Young adult authors write books for readers between 12 and early adulthood, featuring young adult protagonists dealing with growing up. The market includes fiction, nonfiction, science fiction, fantasy, and mainstream literature. The young adult market was created in the 1960s after the success of SE Hinton’s novel The Outsiders. The young adult author faces unique challenges, including writing for teenage readers while not talking down to them. Problem novels are popular, but controversial. The market includes a wide variety of subjects and genres, including fantasy, biographies, sports stories, and comedy.
A young adult author writes books for the young adult market. This market caters to readers between the ages of 12 and early adulthood. The young adult author specializes in works that will appeal to teen readers and sometimes older readers. These are often works of fiction, featuring young adult protagonists who are dealing with the challenges of growing up. The market also includes science fiction, fantasy, and mainstream literature, as well as various forms of nonfiction such as biography and memoirs.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, most authors directed their work towards children or adults. The young adult market was not created until the 1960s after the success of SE Hinton’s novel The Outsiders. Written while Hinton was a teenager and featuring teenage protagonists dealing with real-world issues, the book was a critical and popular success, revealing a largely untapped audience in youth culture. In the 1970s, authors such as Hinton, Judy Blume, and Paul Zindel created works for these readers. By the 1980s, the young adult market was fully established in the US and elsewhere, and has remained a potent force well into the 21st century.
The young adult author faces some unique challenges. Young adult books should be written for teenage readers, who may be unfamiliar with complex subjects and languages. At the same time, the writer cannot talk down to the readers, as few teenagers tolerate even a hint of such treatment. Teenage concerns are often a primary factor in these books. Particularly popular are so-called problem novels that feature teenagers dealing with social and emotional issues such as dysfunctional families, drugs or sexuality.
This approach is not without controversy. Many young adult authors find their work challenged by parents who feel these subjects are inappropriate for young readers. Judy Blume was an early target of these censors, because of her frank approach to teen sexuality and other topics in her popular and acclaimed novels of the 1970s. Many young adult novels were banned by school libraries in the following decades; sometimes this really heightens the appeal for teens. The controversy over which subjects are appropriate for the young adult market seems unlikely to end anytime soon.
Problem novels make up a large segment of the young adult market, but books from a wide variety of subjects and genres are also included. In the early 21st century, fantasy authors JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer dominated the market with the Harry Potter and Twilight series, respectively. While each was initially identified as a young adult author, both have won over readers of all ages with their popular sagas. Other young adult authors write biographies, sports stories, or even comedy. Graphic novels, including translated Japanese comics, or manga, have also been popular with young adult readers since at least the 1921s.
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