From Giant Freakin Robot:

Republican Delegate Ray Canterbury, of Greenbrier County, West Virginia, has [introduced a bill in the state legislature that would require] “grade-appropriate science fiction literature” be added to the state’s middle-school and high-school curriculum. He’s actually introduced the proposal once before, but he’s resurrecting the bill again in hopes it will either pass outright or at least convince the Board to consider the merits of adding science fiction to schools.

Canterbury is a lifelong science fiction fan, but his reasoning for wanting it introduced to the school system is tied to a problem that’s facing our nation as a whole: namely, that we’re falling behind in the fields of math and science. Many modern scientists cite influences such as Star Trek as inspiring them to pursue a career in the sciences, and Canterbury believes that can happen again if kids are exposed to science fiction early on.

Canterbury told Blastr:

In Southern West Virginia, there’s a bit of a Calvinistic attitude toward life—this is how things are and they’ll never be any different. One of the things about science fiction is that it gives you this perspective that as long as you have an imagination and it’s grounded in some sort of practical knowledge, you can do anything you wanted to. So it serves as a kind of antidote to that fatalistic kind of thinking.

Link to the rest at Giant Freakin Robot

From BookRiot:

Young adult literature gets a bad rap because of the immense, insane popularity of certain titles that book snobs around the globe (including myself, sometimes) deem less-than-worthy of a Serious Reader’s attention. Twilight,The Hunger Games, and even much-beloved, less-scoffed-at Harry Potter often earn adult fans a bit of classic side-eye when we’re spotted reading them.

. . . .

Even I, one of its biggest proponents, get frustrated with YA lit from time to time. Among my complaints: not enough standalone novels; too many love triangles; an overabundance of manic pixie dream girls; too much dystopia. But then, there are the gems. There are the writers who aren’t afraid to tackle hard topics, sticky ones, misunderstood ones and the books that you just can’t stop thinking about for days, weeks, or years after reading them.

A melancholic person by nature, I am drawn to these books: the ones that hit closest to my painful spots, the bruises on my psyche or ego that go back to the time when I was their target audience, the books that personalize the painful spots in our history on a small or large scale, the ones that explore the problems of our present culture.

Link to the rest at BookRiot

From Today News:

When Beth Reeks began writing her hit novel, “Kissing Booth,” she wasn’t expecting to be a record-setting author before her third year of high school. She just wanted to read something that didn’t involve vampires, werewolves, or fallen angels.

“I just wanted a plain simple teenage romance,” Reeks — who goes by the pen name Beth Reekles — told TODAY.com.

The now 17-year-old apparently wasn’t the only one. After she posted her novel on the self-publishing site Wattpad, it received a site-breaking record 40 million hits and caught the notice of a Random House UK editor who sent her an email through the site.

. . . .

In October of 2012, Reeks signed a three-book deal with the publishing house, beginning with “The Kissing Booth” which is now available in e-book form. It’s slated to come out in paperback later this year.

Link to the rest at Today News and thanks to Sariah for the tip.

From The Mail Online:

A professor and scholar of English literature has revealed how she she spent six years ghostwriting dozens of Sweet Valley High books.

Detroit-born Amy Boesky was a poet and 23-year-old graduate student in literature at Oxford University when she was introduced to the teen-girl series’ creator, Francine Pascal, at a life altering dinner party.

After writing a sample chapter, Ms Boesky went from ‘reading sermon after sermon’ of poet John Donne’s prose to becoming one of Sweet Valley High’s principal ghostwriters – a job she said helped pay her way through grad school, and one that she was trying to keep hidden.

. . . .

She was first hired to write Book 16, titled Rags to Riches, and for six years, she continued to chronicle the lives of identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, and their friends at Sweet Valley High.

‘Sweet Valley became my other, hidden life—at night, on weekends. Over vacations. The whole time I was getting my PhD, I wrote more or less every other book in the series, alternating with another “principle” writer whom I never met,’ she said.

. . . .

‘Ms Francine created the story plots, which arrived in my mailbox in manila envelopes and, when I took them out and studied them, read like long, free-verse poems. Eight or nine pages of single spaced directives that laid out exhilarating and implausible fables of duplicity, innovation, risk, and triumph,’ she said.

‘My task was to turn these into “chapter outlines,” adding my own subplots, mailing them back to my editor, and waiting for his approval. Once I got the green light, I worked with the precision of a Swiss clock.’

. . . .

‘The twins by and large didn’t “say” things—instead, they chuckled and giggled and whispered and murmured and sighed. They “gasped” over good news or bad. They lived in a fantasy world, these girls, and as long as I was writing about them, to some extent, so did I.’

. . . .

‘My twenties came to an end. I got my PhD. I was lucky: the year I was on the market, there was a spike in assistant professor jobs in English literature, and I ended up with some choices. I packed up my stuff and headed south.‘

But, she admitted, ‘every once in a while, sitting in the library or working upstairs in my study, tussling with a footnote, checking and re-checking a source, struggling to make a contribution in a field crowded with smart people, I would sit back and remember the ease of Sweet Valley High. The words that came so easily, and gave me so much combined pleasure and guilt.‘

Link to the rest at The Mail Online and thanks to Maureen for the tip.

From School Library Journal:

A pretty active topic on blogs, twitters, and even newspapers is something called “New Adult” books.

What is “New Adult,” exactly?

. . . .

From Beyond Wizards and Vampires, To Sex at The New York Times: ”books that fit into the young-adult genre in their length and emotional intensity, but feature slightly older characters and significantly more sex, explicitly detailed.” So, almost a sub-genre of Young Adult, with “slightly older” characters and sexytimes.

From The Guardian (UK), Would You Read Novels Aimed at “New Adults”?: “That’s the label that has been created for books in which the main characters transform from teenagers into adults and try to navigate the difficulties of post-adolescent life: first love, starting university, getting a job, and so on. The new genre is meant to be for readers aged 14-35.” Well, that’s a bit different! Readers from aged 14 to 35. Instead of “sex,” it’s about “post-adolescent life.” Of 14 and 35 year olds.

. . . .

Over at Dear Author, Jane wrote New Adult: It’s not about the sex (but don’t be afraid of the sex either) ”New Adult, however, is not just sexed up YA, but an exploration of a time period in a character’s life. The post high school / pre responsible time period” and “New Adult is a time period and a feel — a newly emancipated person on the cusp of discovering themselves, where they fit into life, what allowances they will make, and how they relate to others. Their whole world is their oyster. The future is a bit more nebulous. The space for experimentation exists and the cast of characters varies widely, not just limited to the over the top billionaire but has room for the pierced, tattooed, low income, and all those in between.” In a way, Jane does what Bookshelvers does, going beyond the s.e.x. and focusing on the content of the books. Both are still tied to ages, though not as expansive as the Guardian.

Link to the rest at School Library Journal

“Can a tea enhance your reading experience? We like to think so. That’s why we’ve crafted this list of YA and tea combos.”

Head over to Epic Reads for this totally cool article.  Now I’m thinking of wine and book pairings, cheese and book pairings, chocolate and book pairings!  I could really get into this.

Julia Barrett

From Gawker:

If there is one thing that brings joy to my heart, it is charting the growth of newly invented genres. You can argue over whether trend pieces about “new adult” fiction or “baby boomer” literature are describing truly original developments or ginned-up marketing terms with no relation to measurable changes in book-buying practices (in fact, our very own Katie Baker has already done so in a very neat analysis). But at a certain point the distinction becomes meaningless; talk about “new adult” fiction long enough and Amazon will eventually dedicate a department to it.

. . . .

Can this new genre be pegged to the success of young adult literature?

Coming of old age:

A new genre is born, a pendant to Young Adult literature, with one difference: Baby Boomer novels address “coming of old age” issues just as Young Adult novels are concerned with just coming of age.

New adult:

They’ve labeled this category “new adult” – which some winkingly describe as Harry Potter meets “50 Shades of Grey” – and say it is aimed at 18-to-25-year-olds, the age group right above young adult.

Boomer lit isn’t “just like” coming of age literature: it’s better. Point Boomers.

. . . .

Can you draw unsubstantiated comparisons with existing media properties?

Coming of old age:

Recent Baby Boomer movies, such as Red, Hope Springs, or The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, have all been smashing successes.

Yet most movies are based on books and perhaps, historically, the first book that led to a hugely successful movie, was Louis Begley’s About Schmidt in 2002. The movie was only loosely based on the novel, but Jack Nicholson’s star performance made it memorable. And it certainly opened the way to the new Baby Boomer genre.

New adult:

The goal is to retain young readers who have loyally worked their way through series like Harry Potter, “The Hunger Games” and “Twilight.”

Coming of old age goes for a reach, dropping unrelated movie titles and a 10-year-old film in the same breath, but Harry Potter/Hunger Games/Twilight makes for an unbeatable hat trick. Point new adults.

Link to the rest at Gawker and thanks to Claude for the tip.

From Publishers Weekly:

Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group has announced the debut of Swoon Reads, a crowdsourced YA romance imprint under the aegis of Feiwel and Friends. This pioneering venture will create an online community where writers submit their manuscripts directly to the publisher, and readers participate in the publishing process by reading, rating, and commenting on submissions – and subsequently by providing notes and input on cover design and marketing for accepted books. The manuscripts achieving the highest ratings by readers and an in-house Swoon Reads editorial team will be published in paperback and e-book editions.

. . . .

“The romance category remains one of the most enduring, and has always been at the heart of some of the bestselling series, including the Hunger Games and Twilight,” Feiwel says. “You can clothe it in many different outfits, but romance is at the core. Looking at the self-published books that have risen to the top of bestseller lists, I realize that there is a lot of talent out there, but so many debut authors find it hard to break through. It struck me that I would love to break down some of the walls and come up with a different publishing model that gets readers involved. Romance readers are an avid, very vocal group.”

Link to the rest at Publishers Weekly and thanks to Danyelle for the tip.

From Publishing Perspectives:

“The future of YA literature is directly and profoundly tied to the future of young adults,” said author Beth Kephart during her keynote address at Wednesday’s YA Publishing Conference, as she extolled the virtues and emphasised the importance of young adult fiction that does not just entertain, but empower.

The conference, organized by Publishing Perspectives and co-hosted by Scholastic, drew authors, publishing professionals and journalists together to answer the titular question: “what’s next?” And while the future of YA publishing was much discussed, panels covered everything from the very definition of “Young Adult,” to recent sales trends and demographics, and even the rise of the “new adult” literary genre.

. . . .

That sentiment — that no matter the current hot trend, or format, or multi-platform tie-ins, it all comes down to telling a really good story — was repeated often throughout the day.

Another of the conference’s recurring themes was YA’s ability to transcend age groups; in a short presentation, Bowker’s Carlo Kulo noted that most YA readers were not actually teens. Between August 2010 and July 2012, the majority of YA purchasers were over 18, and Kulo reported that the staff of a Boston bookstore had said that most of the customers who inquired there about YA titles were middle aged. And Bowker’s statistics also indicated that these were not adults simply buying the book for their kids — all age groups have been buying increasingly for themselves.

. . . .

YA seems no longer bound by strict genre lines or pegged below a certain benchmark of quality — Kephart noted that YA novels are taking “more risks than ever with voice, structure [and] form,” and Weiss argued that the generally high quality of YA writing, coupled with increased interest on the part of adults, is facilitating a “leveling of the difference between high and low culture.”

. . . .

“Curation,” explained Charlie Schroder, Founder of intellectual property consultancy Charlie Schroder & Company, “is now as equally valued as creation. The ability to source something interesting, or be seen as a source, is as valuable as creating something interesting.”

Link to the rest at Publishing Perspectives and thanks to Danyelle for the tip.