Being a YA Lit Advocate

We who read young adult literature and believe in its value need to be ready to engage with those who attack and dismiss it. Instead of getting angry, we can take a positive and proactive stance. We can position ourselves as YA lit advocates, and we can view advocacy as way to change the conversation about books, reading, and teenagers.

Tune in to hear about what it means to be a YA lit advocate and what YA advocacy work can look like. You’ll learn strategies you can use to challenge misconceptions about YA lit. You’ll also hear about a variety of fiction and nonfiction titles you can recommend to teen readers. Some take up difficult topics, others raise teens’ political and social consciousness, and still others allow teens of different kinds to see themselves. You’ll also hear about books that experiment with style and blur genres.

After listening to this episode, be sure to print out this list of recommended titles to take to the library or bookseller.

Books featured in this episode:

• The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin (Little, Brown, 2015)
• The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2016)
• The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch by Daniel Kraus (Simon & Schuster, 2015)
• Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinkin (Roaring Brook Press, 2015)
• Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights by Ann Bausum (Viking, 2015)
• Playing for the Devil’s Fire by Phillippe Diederich (Cinco Puntos Press, 2016)
• If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth (Arthur A. Levine, 2013)
• The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie Sue Hitchcock (Wendy Lamb Books, 2016)
• Into White by Randi Pink (Feiwel & Friends, 2016)
  
  Book and author resources:
  • Listen to Daniel Kraus talk with fellow YA author Sara Zarr about the process of writing The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch
  • Watch Steve Sheinkin read an excerpt from Most Dangerous at the National Book Awards
  • Read about the dearth of stories about Native Americans in YA Lit and how Cheryl Klein acquired the manuscript of Eric Gansworth’s If I Ever Get Out of Here