As May comes to a close, we here at Young Adulting cannot wait for a summer full of books, books, and—you guessed it—more books! Here’s what we’ve been up to since I last wrote:
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!
May’s First Page Feature is Cath Ayres:
Cath completed their B.Ed and M.Ed in Australia, and worked as an early childhood teacher for several years before moving to Vancouver to study a Master of Arts in Children’s Literature. Cath is a big fan of beautiful illustrations, rich language, and authentic queer representation. When not studying, reading or writing about kids’ books, you can find Cath working in a book shop recommending the best book you’ve never heard of.
Please take the time to enjoy their FPF:
Fathoms
Benji was floating.
He imagined he was a jellyfish
Bobbing, drifting
Pul – sa – ting
Un
du ting
la
His fingers dangled like tentacles,
moved in time with the ripples.
His buoyant torso lapped against the surface of the pool.
But his mind,
his mind was
deep.
—
In the lukewarm pool, the chlorine stung
his nose,
his eyes,
the graze on his knee
and the cut on his toe.
Benji dipped his head back,
water seeping up through his curls
rushing into his ears,
muffling the world outside.
He was cocooned.
Weightless.
Free.
And he smiled.
—
Thursdays were swim club,
where Benji would transform himself
into a seal,
a sea lion,
an otter,
a dolphin.
A shark.
He’d zoom past everyone.
Thrashing limbs.
Aggressive.
Focused.
Unrelenting.
An apex predator on the hunt.
He was in it to win it, and he’d tell you as much.
Here, in Mulga Creek, people understood what it meant
to win.
But once he’d won,
once swim club finished,
and the others were dragging their exhausted bodies
out of this puddle of a pool,
into the stagnant air of a summer waiting on a storm,
Benji would become a jellyfish.
Suspended in the dark,
not thinking,
not breathing.
Just
existing
in the quiet,
deep,
dark.
—
When he was a jellyfish,
nobody came near,
lest he sting.
They knew
not to ask questions
not to make demands
not to correct him.
Knew that one false move would result in a barb
so sharp
they’d feel it
burn
for days.
When he was a jellyfish,
they’d leave him alone.
They’d let
him
be.
For these five minutes each week
he had
silence.
He could sink
into the deep.
But he wasn’t a jellyfish,
not really.
There were no jellyfish around here.
Only sharks.
And Benji?
He was the most vicious shark around.
What drew you to writing for younger audiences?
I spent years working with young kids as a nanny, in early childhood centres, kindergartens and as an elementary school teacher in Australia. Books (particularly picture books) were always the centre of each activity, lesson or game. Now, I’m studying Kid Lit and I work in a kids bookshop. I don’t think a day has gone by in the past decade where I haven’t read at least one book marketed for kids, whether I’m with the kids or not!
I think I’ve been writing for quite a while, but never really considered myself a “writer.” I am constantly inspired by the new books being published each week, and the growing diversity of characters and experiences. It’s so important for kids to see themselves reflected in the books they read, so I am writing for those who were missing representation when I read with them.
What’s your favourite part of the writing process?
Actually getting things down on paper, coherently! My brain is a messy room where things are often put down and lost for good. My notes app is unhinged, full of little turns of phrase and random vignettes. When I am able to read over my notes, remember what I wanted to do or where I was going with it, and manage to turn it into something, that’s always really exciting. I also love the freedom of writing in verse, it lets me dig deep into the emotions of a character while being deliberate about word choice and formatting. I never had access to verse novels growing up, so I’m really enjoying exploring the form as an adult.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
I don’t know if this is really advice I’ve received about writing as much as it is a teaching strategy, but kids can handle more advanced vocab than you give them credit for, so long as you give them the context and tools to understand new words. And they LOVE learning new words! I like to keep a list of my favourite words handy. Those really fun, uncommon words that feel delicious on the tongue and make kids feel ten feet tall when they use them, like “pivotal” or “exquisite” or “grimace”. But, they always must be used in context! You need to build the sentence in a way that it provides enough definition, but you can have fun with it. When studying reading instruction in my M.Ed, my prof used Lemony Snicket as a gold star example of vocabulary instruction in action. Nobody does it quite like that anymore, which is a shame. Bring back big words!
YAing Updates
We’ve published some marvellous reviews since our last update. Here’s a recap:
- “Finally Fitz is an endearing coming-of-age novel reminiscent of XO Kitty’s exploration of culture, family, and romance with the childhood friends-to-lovers trope thrown into the mix. It’s a perfect read for people who might enjoy a love letter to New York City, artistic pursuits, and ultimately—finding yourself.” Lois L.K. Chan reviews Finally Fitz by Marisa Kanter.
- “Rife with both comedy and sincerity, the book serves as a reminder of childhood — what it means to be a kid and how it feels to experience life through that lens. With all the ups and downs, big feelings, emotional outbursts, and sweet innocence, Lou feels incredibly tangible.” Sophia Thomson reviews Fantastic Lou by Qin Leng.
I’m currently out of town and as such, our regular Tuesday/Thursday schedule is going to be a little bit funky this week and next. Next week, look out for a wonderful interview with Léa Taranto regarding her debut YA novel, A Drop in the Ocean conducted by the incredibly talented author, Cid V Brunet.
Industry News
The Fold is now offering 50% off virtual passes for The 2025 Festival of Literary Diversity which will let you access over 20 virtual workshops and panels, which means you can watch all events, including select in-person recordings until June 30!
The Vancouver Public Library has a Reading Buddies series going which gives children in grades two to four a chance to practice reading with a ‘big buddy’ teen volunteer. There’s still space to register for June 2nd from 4-5pm at the Joe Fortes Branch.
Submissions
The 2025 FOLD KIDS BOOK FEST PROGRAM is now open for application!
- The Fold accepts poetry (any length) and short stories (up to 500 words) submissions from young writers aged 6–14. Submissions will be considered until 11:30pm ET on June 30, 2025.
Banff Centre has their applications open for the Early Career Writers of Young Adult and Children’s Books 2025 Residency. Geared towards new YA and children’s lit writers, this two week residency will give you the chance to work closely with industry professionals including UBC’s very own Jordan Scott!
As always, submit your work to us and have the chance to show off your writing with Young Adulting’s First Page Feature!
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 (usually) published on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. And remember to keep up with us on on Instagram!
Take care, and happy reading,
The Young Adulting Editors
YOUNG ADULTING 