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A [Brief] History of Young Adult Fiction (YA)

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Abstract

YA is a nebulous term, and scholars are still in the process of defining what it is and who it is for. Campbell (Campbell’s Scoop: Reflections on Young Adult Literature, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, 2010) writes, ‘the central theme of most YA fiction is becoming an adult, finding the answer to the internal and external question, “Who am I and what am I going to do about it?”’ (p. 70). Trites (Disturbing the Universe: Power and Repression in Adolescent Literature. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, 2000) argues that the experience of navigating institutional power hierarchies—whether that is in families, schools, the government, religion, identity politics, etc.—is at the heart of YA. Trites draws upon different concepts of power, conceptualising them within adolescent literature Foucault (The Archaeology of Knowledge and the Discourseon Language. Pantheon, New York, 1972). This Foucauldian negotiation with institutional hierarchies is also one that YA authors of colour often undergo in the publishing industry. Issues of ‘race’ and racism intrude on the writing and publishing experiences of YA authors colour; even writing, against the grain, can be an act of resistance for them. As Bourdieu (The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, Polity Press, Oxford, 1993) argues, ‘on the one side are the dominant figures, who want continuity, identity, reproduction; on the other, the newcomers, who seek discontinuity, rupture, differences, revolution’ (p. 106). Ramdarshan Bold brings together discussions about young adult literature from a variety of different disciplines—literary studies, education and pedagogy, publishing and book studies, library and information science, sociology, etc.—to create a comprehensive and compelling picture of how the field of literature has developed over the decades, and how it related to publishing, reading, and writing practices. Ramdarshan Bold explores contemporary trends in YA, detailing how inclusive (or diverse) literature aimed at young people developed and expanded in the UK.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In her most recent work, Trites (2018), drawing upon Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality , argues that ‘all childhood is always already intersectional’ [the italics have been added here] because, going back to her previous point, young people are powerless compared to adults (p. 31). Although this balance of power may exist, using a term that usually describes marginalised/oppressed people is incredibly problematic. Especially since readers of and protagonists in Children’s and YA literature are typically white (and heterosexual, cisgendered, and able-bodied for the latter) (Pearson 2016; CLPE 2018; Ramdarshan Bold 2018).

  2. 2.

    For example, despite the similarities in social and economic cultures, there are differences in adolescence in the UK and USA (countries that dominate YA), e.g. In the UK, teenagers have more rights and responsibilities (such as being allowed to get married or drink alcohol) at a younger age (Griffin 1993).

  3. 3.

    Although Edwards states that ‘it was in 1942 that the new field of writing for teenager became established’, the term ‘young adult’ was coined by the American Library Association in 1966 (Edwards 1954, p. 88; Cart 2010). In the UK, librarians began to use the term ‘teenager fiction’ in 1948 after they realised the teenager demographic was not interested in children’s books (Smith 2002).

  4. 4.

    These studies focus on American YA: there has not been a study that details the evolution of UKYA.

  5. 5.

    The interviewed authors described this type of book as ‘issue books’.

  6. 6.

    Bodley Head, with its New Adult series, was the only other British imprint to distinguish itself as a publisher of teenage fiction (Pearson 2016).

  7. 7.

    In the UK, problem novels were still very popular in the 1980s (Pearson 2016).

  8. 8.

    Popular series on this time included Sweet Dreams, and Sweet Valley High.

  9. 9.

    There were eight different iterations of the series in the best-selling YA list, between 2006 and 2016 (Ramdarshan Bold 2018).

  10. 10.

    All of these authors and celebrities published YA titles, in the UK, in the 2006–2016 period.

  11. 11.

    According to the ALA website, the Newbery Medal is awarded ‘to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children’ (ALA 2018).

  12. 12.

    Thomas is the only author of colour on the Carnegie Medal 2018 shortlist. The 2017 list had no author of colour on it, as will be discussed on p. x. Although THUG did not win the Carnegie Medal it did win the Amnesty CILIP Honour 2018.

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Ramdarshan Bold, M. (2019). A [Brief] History of Young Adult Fiction (YA). In: Inclusive Young Adult Fiction. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10522-8_2

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