In the Background: Class in YA Fiction

September 12th, 2022  |  Season 5  |  12 mins 6 secs

beta-reading, books, class, critique, worldcon77, writers, writing, writing tips, ya

In the real world, the social class we come from can have far-reaching consequences into our lives: from the jobs we hold, to the things that worry us, to our long-lasting health. Getting class, and its consequences right, can be tricky to do.

In the titular panel at WorldCon2019, Marieke Nÿkamp, Avery Delany, Caroline Hooton, and Victoria Lee discussed the ways their class upbringing compared to their current social class, and the implications inherent in that.

YA Futures

August 15th, 2022  |  Season 5  |  8 mins 55 secs

beta-reading, books, critique, worldcon77, writers, writing, writing tips, ya

YA is big and has been since the late 90s. But the future today doesn’t look like it did even 10 or 20 years ago. What do YA fantasy and science fiction readers want today?

At the titular panel at WorldCon2019, I had the opportunity to listen to the top professionals in the field discuss what they see coming. On the panel were Charlie Jane Anders, James Smythe, Eric Picholle, Fonda Lee, and Kristina Perez.

Coming Of Age vs YA

June 6th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  8 mins 8 secs

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Coming of age stories have always been a large part of the fantasy genre in particular, but now, it can be hard to know where to draw the line between YA and Adult novels.