YALSA’s upcoming YA Literature Symposium will explore the future of young adult literature. The symposium begins on November 2nd, but we wanted to get a head start here at The Hub, so we’re devoting October to 31 Days of the Next Big Thing. Each day of the month, we’ll bring you forecasts about where YA literature is headed and thoughts on how you can spot trends and predict the future yourself.
Back in May The Hub tackled upcoming trends and I mentioned that “straight-up, non-dystopian, space-ships-and-aliens science fiction for teens” was a trend I saw coming, though I also noted that it was possibly wishful thinking. Being a card-carrying, president-of-the-science-fiction-and-fantasy-club-in-high-school SF fan, I’ve complained a lot in the recent past about the dearth of good YA science fiction, and while I’ve enjoyed a lot of the recent dystopian and post-apocalyptic titles, what I was really craving were the kind of books I read growing up, only new. And for teens. I’m thinking of authors like Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, William Sleator, John Christopher, Frank Herbert, Anne McCaffrey, and Andre Norton or books like A Wrinkle in Time, Ender’s Game, The Martian Chronicles, Lord of Light, Earthseed, and so many others.
Six months and a dozen new SF titles later I think this is an honest to goodness trend, and I couldn’t be happier. Continue reading 31 Days of the Next Big Thing: More Science Fiction for Teens? Make it So!
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