It’s a crowded market out there; agents discuss which books rise to the top of their slush pile
Throughout the current decade, YA has been the darling category of the traditional publishing industry, a key growth area (at least before audiobooks took off) offering crossover appeal. Nielsen studies suggest more than half of all YA is read by adults. When a Big Five publisher allows a year to go by without a release from a blockbuster YA author (think Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, Stephenie Meyer, Cassandra Clare, Nicola Yoon, John Green), it will typically experience a revenue decline.
Earlier this month, Sue Corbett of Publishers Weekly asked a dozen agents about trends in YA. (Full article here; subscription required.) It’s a maturing and crowded market that’s come a long way since the release of The Hunger Games in 2008. Here’s a high-level summary of what agents see in the marketplace.
- Sweet, fluffy rom-com. Agents say the Netflix movie To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (based on a trilogy by Jenny Han) has resulted in demand for more like it. Agent Thao Le tells PW she especially wants light-hearted stories with diverse characters.
- Strong social-justice themes. This includes both nonfiction and novels that speak to activism, environment, and politics.
- Mental-health topics. Teens face a myriad of challenges—everything from depression to disordered eating. A new novel by Jennifer Yu, Imagine Us Happy (Harlequin Teen), deals with such issues, including a toxic relationship.
- Issues-driven plotlines. In short: novels should reflect today’s headlines and accurately capture the contemporary issues that teens face, such as sexual harassment and assault (#metoo), the drug epidemic, and even healthcare.
- Diverse authors. Nearly every agent and publisher is seeking to diversify children’s publishing—and not just via acquisitions, but in staffing. Agents pointed to a specific need for more Native American and Latino stories.
YA graphic novels are still challenging to sell. There’s more appetite for illustrated fiction in middle-grade markets than in YA markets. However, things may be shifting—slowly. Agent Joanna Volpe (who represents Veronica Roth) tells PW that prior to 2017 she’d only sold three such projects. Last year, she sold five, a mix of middle grade and young adult.
Realistic fiction still dominates (sorry, fantasy writers!). Those working in science fiction and fantasy may need to consider how to ground their work in the real world, give it a contemporary feel, and address social issues teens grapple with today (e.g., sexism, violence, racism).
Bottom line: The YA market has room for contrasting themes: agents and publishers want light stories (the sweet rom-com) as escapism from current events, but they also want stories that help teens realize they’re not alone and offer a way to deal with today’s headlines. To find new voices, agents attend writers conferences—especially those with diverse writers in attendance—and participate in Twitter pitch events such as #DVPit and #PitMad. That said, most agents still rely heavily on what comes in cold through the mail: the query letter.
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.
