We hope you’ve been staying warm and enjoying the snow since we last wrote! We’ve been so cozy in the company of so many wonderful new books here at Young Adulting. So, without further ado, here’s the latest in the children’s and young adult publishing industry:
We’re so excited to kick-off the year with our very first First Page Feature! The First Page Feature is a chance for emerging writers to feature the first page of their works-in-progress (ranging from Middle Grade to New Adult) in our monthly newsletter. Interested in featuring your first pages? Read our First Page Feature guidelines here, and submit here!
January’s First Page Feature is Deb Vail!
Deb Vail’s writing has been published in several Canadian journals such as The New Quarterly, Prism, Grain to name a few. She lives in Mission BC.
Raised on Lies by Deb Vail
I parked my car in front of my mother’s townhouse complex and charged through the catwalk to my best friend Pete’s house. Last week, when my girlfriend broke up with me, he was the first person I had called. He let me rant about how upsetting it was to be the one who got dumped, and he didn’t tease me when I cried. Pete’s never had a girlfriend, and I guess he didn’t know what to say aside from, “Everything will work itself out, Deklin, you have to be open-minded.” I told him he sounded like his mother, and we laughed.
Since our conversation, I’d been texting and calling but he never answered, which is one of his more irritating qualities—Pete can let his phone die and not notice for a couple of days. I’d just started my first semester of university and was living in a dorm, but he and Maggie were still finishing their last credits of high school. The work-at-your-own-pace model seemed like a good idea in grade eight. It backfired when I graduated before my friends, and my mother insisted I enroll in university on Vancouver Island and shipped me off to live in a dorm.
I should have stayed on campus for that long Thanksgiving weekend and finished all my overdue assignments, but with the break-up and my roommates visiting their families, it felt too depressing to be alone.
When I got to Pete’s front door, I rang the doorbell and called, “It’s me, Deklin.” I usually just walked in, but this time Pete’s front door was locked.
I could hear a flurry of words, and through the side window, I spotted his parents at the entrance. “You answer.”
“No, you answer.”
“It’s just Deklin,” I called again, but the door didn’t open.
Finally, after what seemed like way too long, the latch turned, the door opened slowly, and Mrs. Byrnes appeared with her reddish face and her hands on her large hips. “Well, now, look who it is, we weren’t expecting you this weekend, Deklin.” Her thick Irish accent made everything she said sound like a song.
“Maggie dumped me,” I shrugged, “I figure when she comes to her senses making up will be easier if I’m on this side of the water.”
I expected her to smile at that, but her brow creased, and her pale blue eyes watered.
“When’s the last time you talked to Pete?” She rubbed her forehead.
“Few days ago, why?”
“Oh, hon.” She stepped outside onto the landing, and just as she was about to close the door behind her, I spotted what had to be Maggie’s red ankle boots, size five, on the boot rack just inside the door.
3 Questions for the Author
What drew you to writing for younger audiences?
My interest in writing YA stems from my time spent in the classroom teaching grade seven. There is nothing like a good book to bring 30+ young adults together. So, when it came time to plan my thesis for an MFA in creative writing, I chose to write a New Adult novel. I enjoyed the process of infusing my experiences of living with a hidden disability into the life of a young protagonist in the hopes that it would resonate in the mind of a young reader.
What’s your favourite part of the writing process?
Solitude, and the opportunity to express myself in ways not offered through other forms of art.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Never give up. Success, in many areas of life, is about perseverance. Read a rejection letter once and toss it. It just means someone working as hard as you are was given a break.
If you are interested in contacting Deb Vail, please email young.adulting@ubc.ca.
YAing Updates
We’ve published some marvellous reviews since our last update. Here’s a recap:
- “Introduced as your typical self-absorbed tweenaged boy, Jamie grows into a mature pragmatist, undaunted by suffering. His character development is natural, easy to follow, and one of Flight Plan’s shining features.” Emily Soroos reviews Flight Plan by Eric Walters
- “In this middle-grade novel, real world issues such as poverty and bullying are explored in a kid-friendly manner.” Emma Wu reviews Willpower by Marty Chan
- “At no point is Rae admonishing, despite the fact that the environmental crisis we are living in might demand it. Instead, she provides the reader with the base information of how water bodies work and then speaks to the ways in which humans have manipulated these ecosystems—through dams, systems of irrigation, among others—and the negative effects this has had not only the environment, but also on particular groups of people.” Carolina Leyton reviews Upstream, Downstream: Exploring Watershed Connections by Rowena Rae
As always, check back every Thursday and every other Tuesday for more reviews of upcoming and new releases.
Industry News
A reminder that Diapora Dialogues is hosting a number of free zoom Lunch N Learn events at 12:30pm EST. There are still two upcoming events, including Romance Writing 101 on January 30, and Deep Dive Into the Writing Process on February 13! Click the links above to register.
The FOLD 2024 Reading challenge is out, with January’s challenge being to read a book by a Palestinian author. Check out their list of fantastic book recommendations here.
Penguin School & Library is hosting a free, one-hour webinar to hear from acclaimed and award-winning illustrators who have new books out in Spring 2024! Click here to RSVP for the event on on Monday, January 29 at 2 pm ET!
The Toronto Star is hosting their 2024 short story contest! The contest begins at 12:01am EST on Saturday, January 6, 2024 and ends at 5:00pm EST, Wednesday, February 28, 2024. Click here to learn more!
The 2024 CBC Non-Fiction Prize is now open! You can submit original, unpublished nonfiction that is up to 2,000 words. There is no minimum word requirement. Nonfiction includes memoir, biography, humour writing, essay (including personal essay), travel writing and feature articles. Click here to learn more.
FOLD Pitch Perfect submissions is back! This year, they are looking for Memoir, Non-Fiction, Commercial & Literary Fiction, Romance, Young Adult, Thrillers, and Speculative Fiction. Apply by February 1, 2024, at 11:59 pm for a chance to receive feedback on an excerpt of your work. Click here to learn more!
As always, please do send us your news related to children’s and young adult literature at young.adulting@ubc.ca so we can feature them in future newsletters. Our newsletter is published on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month. And remember to keep up with us on Twitter and Instagram!
Take care, and happy reading,
The Young Adulting Editors
YOUNG ADULTING 