2013/14

Susannah Chambers, Allen & Unwin

Susannah Chambers’ report, 'Young Adult Fiction – Is it All Grown Up?', investigates the varying fortunes of the Australian and United States Young Adult (YA) market. At the time of her writing, the US YA market was surging in the wake of the bestselling Twilight series, which was only the forerunner of a slew of ‘blockbuster’ YA and YA-based movies, including the aforementioned, as well as The Hunger Games and Divergent series. In Australia, local titles were being vastly outsold by imported titles. Reasons for the change in the market, what kinds of books were being published (and the difference between a ‘blockbuster’ and an ‘award-winner’), the globalisation of American YA, and just who was reading YA fiction are just some of the topics discussed. The report offers a comprehensive contemporary analysis of a pivotal period in YA publishing.

Download the full 2014/2015 report here.
Additional reading can be found on Susannah’s blog of her BDEF experiences, Susanna and Beatrice.