Happy March! Spring is springing, and thankfully it’s arrived with some sunshine. Between school deadlines, looming midterms, and general life tasks, we hope you’ve been making some time for yourself. So, sit back, relax, and check out what’s been happening in the children’s publishing industry!
YAing Updates
In our March author spotlight, reviewer Kaitlyn Chan interviews YA author Jordyn Taylor. Jordyn Taylor is an award-winning author of young adult fiction and the Executive Digital Editor at Men’s Health magazine. Her debut novel, The Paper Girl of Paris, won the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People in 2021, and her second novel, Don’t Breathe a Word, was a finalist for the Forest of Reading White Pine Award and shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence for Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book. Her third novel, The Revenge Game, released in late 2023. Jordyn is also an adjunct professor at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, and is now based in New York.
When I was a teen in the early 2000s, I was obsessed with reading The Princess Diaries and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Those amazing books helped me reflect on friendships, family dynamics, and romantic relationships in my own life. And: I wish I’d also had guidance on certain topics that weren’t as well-represented back then as they are now, like feminism, sex positivity, and queerness. In The Revenge Game, I tried to explore some of the concepts I wish I’d been exposed to at an earlier age, and I hope it’s helpful to readers.
Another thing I love about writing a young adult novel is that the core message tends to be hopeful, even if the subject matter is heavy. I think that would be the biggest difference if I were writing for adults: there wouldn’t necessarily be a happy ending.
We’ve also published some marvellous reviews. Here’s a recap:
- “From the first chapter, The Revenge Game piques the interest of readers through its nonlinear storytelling. The leading question as readers make their way through the novel becomes: “How did this happen?” This book has a strong voice—comical, feminist, and curious—leading the reader through a series of clues to piece together.” Kaitlyn Chan reviews The Revenge Game by Jordyn Taylor
- “Catfish Rolling is not here to provide us with all the answers, but to remind us that there are multiple ways to exist and understand reality. Temporality is such a captivating and sometimes frightening subject, and I was completely invested in Sora and her father’s obsession with figuring out how the zones work. Ultimately though, the message of Catfish Rolling is that trying to control time instead of simply trying to understand it has dire consequences.” Carolina Leyton reviews Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai
- “Shapiro and Kaufman’s love of language shines through in the prose, with lots of alliteration and assonance on each page that rolls off the tongue as you read aloud. The main characters are delightfully verbose – precocious Pam Pam insists that Weasel’s “evidence is faulty”, while Weasel is convinced that “a dog living on its own must be quite a dog.” And, I stand by the fact that not enough picture books feature words such as “indubitably” and “sophisticated”!” Cath Ayres reviews Roy is Not a Dog by Esmé Shapiro and Daniel Kaufman
As always, check back every Thursday and every other Tuesday for more reviews of upcoming and new releases.
Industry Updates
In honour of International Women’s Day, the CCBC March book list features bold women and girls in fiction and in real life. Check out their list of recommendations here!
The representation of the people who publish books matters just as much as the representation of the people who write books. Lee & Low books released the results for the 2023 Diversity Baseline Survey in publishing. The Diversity Baseline Survey was created to answer a question: Does the book industry have a diversity problem? You can check out the 2023 results here, and review data from the previous studies—2019 and 2015—for comparison.
A reminder that Diaspora Dialogues is still accepting applications for short-form mentorship! They invite submissions from emerging writers across Canada including short stories or creative nonfiction less than 3,000 words in length; or up to 5 poems! Learn more about their mentorship program here!
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 