According to a long report from Publishers Lunch by Katy Hershberger (sub required), there’s a growing trend of YA authors selling their first books marketed for adults. Some of those authors include Adalyn Grace, Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier, Isabel Ibanez, Ayana Gray, and Kristin Cast. Agent Joanna Volpe says publishers are seeking YA authors who have an engaged audience who have grown up with them and who are interested in writing for adults—typically rom-coms, romantasy, thrillers, and speculative fiction. Note that the line between YA and adult work has always been fuzzy; more adults read YA than teenagers, and of course young adults read adult work, too. Sometimes the difference between the two categories comes down to the publisher’s marketing and positioning for the book.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
