06-15-12 Once upon a time, books were segmented by topic and age-appropriateness. At retail, there were YA (young adult), children’s, and adult sections, and fiction and nonfiction shelves. And while this system had numerous advantages, it also could keep readers away. Pity the poor man, for instance, who wanted to read The Devil Wears Prada and had to venture into the “chick-lit” aisle.
But then came the introduction of e-readers. These devices eliminated the stigma attached to genres: Women, for example, no longer had to be embarassed to read romance novels. An executive at Harlequin says the publishing house experienced a significant spike in sales once it began selling digital titles because “women could read romance novels without judgment.” In addition, YA titles are no longer limited to young readers in the e-reader era.
The YA category has experienced the biggest benefit from e-reader adoption. Children’s/Young Adult e-book sales grew 475% from $3.9 million 2011 to $22.6 million in the first quarter of 2012, according to the Association of American Publishers.
And now, YA authors are capitalizing on their expanded fan base by introducing titles that in the traditional brick-and-mortar book world would be shelved in the adult section. (It’s important to note these authors maintain they are just writing good stories that appeal to all ages and disavow any YA/adult categorization.)
Some of the more high profile authors delving into the adult world include J.K. Rowling, whose The Casual Vacancy is due out September 27 and Twilight’s Stephenie Meyer, who will add The Soul and The Seeker to her adult-targeted The Host series.
Destigmatization Of YA Titles
John Green is one author who has recently benefited from the merging of YA and adult sections. In previous years, Green’s The Fault In Our Stars would have been strictly confined to the YA audience, since it is a love story set between two teenage cancer patients. Although YA is still affixed to the novel in several book reviews, and The New York Times charted the title on its Children’s List, nearly half of its readers are adults, says the novel’s publisher, Dutton.
Scholastic, the publisher of crossover series Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, has been the clear winner in the destigmatization of YA novels. As Scholastic’s Stacy Lellos tells YMA, “I don’t have the analytics, but the vast majority of YA digital sales come from adults. They have discovered that some of the richest storytelling is going on in the teen space, but don’t have to be embarrassed [to be] holding a YA cover.” Scholastic’s Tracy Van Straaten predicts Jennifer Nielsen’s The False Prince will be its next big crossover series.
At the same time, traditional adult authors continue to publish YA titles. John Grisham introduced his second Theodore Boone YA novel in late 2011. Meanwhile, James Patterson has a new detective series for teens, Confessions of a Murder Suspect, coming out in September.
Contacts and Connections: Association of American Publishers, Andi Sporkin, 455 Massachusetts Ave. NW, #700, Washington, DC 20001; 202-347-3375; www.publishers.org.
Dutton Children’s Books (Penguin Young Readers Group), Steven Meltzer, Associate Publisher/Executive Managing Editor, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014; 212-414-3495; steven.meltzer@us.penguingroup.com; www.penguin.com.
Harlequin Teen, Natashya Wilson, Senior Editor, 233 Broadway, #1001, New York, NY 10279; 212-553-4241; natashya_wilson@harlequin.ca; www.eharlequin.com.
Renaissance Learning, P.O. Box 8036, Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495; 800-338-4204; answers@renlearn.com; www.renlearn.com.
Scholastic, Stacy Lellos, VP Trade Marketing, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012; 212-343-4750; slellos@scholastic.com; www.scholastic.com. Also, Tracy van Straaten, 212-389-3782; tvanstraaten@scholastic.com.
TeenReads.com, The Book Report Network, Carol Fitzgerald, President, 250 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10107; 212-246-3100; carol@bookreporter.com; www.publishersweekly.com.
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