Lamp Lighters and Seed Sowers: Tomorrow's YA: the keynote address, in full

I was so grateful for the opportunity to give the keynote address at the Publishing Perspectives Conference, YA: What's Next, held at the hospitable Scholastic auditorium in New York City this past Wednesday.

Today the fine folks at Publishing Perspectives share the text in full, along with the illustrations by William R. Sulit.  These illustrations were modeled with 3D software, all with the exception of the beautiful face and hands, which belong to my niece (daughter of my famous I Triple E brother), Miranda.

In her keynote address from the YA: What’s Next? publishing conference, author Beth Kephart makes an impassioned case for YA books that are heartfelt, authentic and empowering.......

(Just added:  gratitude for a week of kindness toward Small Damages.)

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Predicting the Near Future of YA in Shelf Awareness

Last summer I began to forge a theory about the what-next in young adult books.  In time the 2011 National Book Award finalists were named, the 2011 Best Of lists were put forward, and the new Printz and Newbery slates were unveiled.  Throughout it all, the theory held.  Today I am grateful to Shelf Awareness for sharing my thoughts in a story that begins like this:

For reasons both maddeningly obvious and impossibly elusive, young adult literature is particularly prone to categorization and trends--fenced in by labels, discriminated for or against, sold according to headline. Teeth sink. Wings ascend. Murderous games hold court. Landscapes are annihilated, and then annihilated again. It's a package deal.

Please read the whole here.  I'm interested in your thoughts, of course.  Where do you think the future lies?

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