#UKYASpotlight is a month-long event across social media to promote YA books by British and Irish authors (resident and national). For more information, click here.
About the Authors
A born and bred Londoner, Ravena Guron writes MG and YA, usually featuring antiheroines or snarky narrators. Growing up she always read the last page of books first, but discovering Agatha Christie in her early teens stopped that habit, igniting a love of twisty murder-mysteries with jaw-dropping endings the reader never saw coming. Ravena is a lawyer with a degree in biochemistry, and hopes to use the knowledge gained from her experiences to plot the perfect murder (for a book, of course!)..
Wibke Brueggemann was born in Germany, but lived in the UK for 25 years. She has an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University.
Malcolm Duffy has been Creative Director at some of London’s top advertising agencies, writing award-winning work for brands such as Apple, BT, Sainsbury’s, Volvo, and the Met Police. After leaving advertising, he became Creative Director of Comic Relief, helping the charity break through the £1billion barrier for money raised.
He now keeps himself busy writing books, having written four critically acclaimed Young Adult novels – Me Mam. Me Dad. Me, Sofa Surfer, and Read Between the Lies. His latest novel, inspired by three Ukrainians that his family took in after the Russian invasion, is called Seven Million Sunflowers.
About Their Books:
Title: CATCH YOUR DEATH
Author: Ravena Guron
Pitch: When three girls are stranded at a grand estate in the middle of a snowstorm, they stumble into a murder plot. Someone has poisoned wealthy Emily Vanforte in the middle of a family dinner – so Devi, Lizzie and Jayne are trapped with a killer and a mystery to solve.
Find on Goodreads.
Title: CUPID’S REVENGE
Author: Wibke Brueggemann
Pitch: Love is the last thing on Tilly’s mind. Her best friend Teddy really wants a girlfriend, but Tilly? No, thank you. Enter Katherine Cooper-Bunting: beautiful, charming, a budding actor, and just perfect for Teddy, who convinced Tilly to audition for an amdram production to help woo his perfect match. But things don’t go to plan. Because Tilly can’t stop thinking about Katherine…
Find on Goodreads.
Title: SEVEN MILLION SUNFLOWERS
Author: Malcolm Duffy
Pitch: The story looks at the war in Ukraine through the eyes of Kat, a 14 year old refugee. It shows her suffering, her fears, her hopes as she and her family try to rebuild their lives in the UK, while the conflict rages back home.
Find on Goodreads.
What do you think is special about UKYA?
Ravena Guron: There’s a few things – the community is small, and incredibly supportive of each other which makes it a really nice place to be in publishing. As well as that, it’s really great reading books set in the UK – the teen experience here is unique to the UK (as it is in every different country!) and it’s nice to see that reflected in these books.
Wibke Brueggemann: In my opinion it’s still grittier than USYA, which makes it real and relatable.
Malcolm Duffy: It opens the eyes and minds of teenagers to worlds they’ve never seen or imagined. It gives a British slant to issues facing young adults, and shows that whatever they’re facing, they are not alone.
What distinguishes a YA book from middle grade or adult? Why do you think it’s so popular at the moment?
Ravena Guron: The age of the character is a big one, as well as the challenges they’re facing – YA will focus more on characters finding their own place in the world. I think YA has been instrumental in driving the industry forward, pushing the boat on what’s published, and I think it’s a space where everyone can feel welcomed. I also think it has more hope compared to a lot of adult books, which means it’s a big draw for people of any age (like it is for me!)
Wibke Brueggemann: YA stories happen when a young person starts that exciting and excruciating journey into adulthood. It’s a time of enormous change and upheaval. It’s when ‘adult’ themes enter their everyday narrative- romantic love, politics, but also where a person starts seriously contemplating the big questions: Who am I? Who do I want to be in this world? What is my place? What is my calling? And I think those questions are exactly why YA is so popular- and has been so popular for a while now.
Malcolm Duffy: YA books are grittier than middle grade, without the dense plotting and dark themes often found in adult stories. I think YA is popular because it allows the reader to look at tough subjects in incredibly fresh, imaginative ways.
There has been a lot of talk about the adultification of YA and what that means for teen readers. What sort of balance do you think UKYA strikes between teens and older readers? Do you think this balance needs to shift in a particular direction and how?
Ravena Guron: This has been an ongoing discussion in the industry for a while – every so often the topic of “New Adult” comes up. I think it’s so important to capture the whole spectrum of readers – on the other end of the age group, the “tween” category is also brought up – needing a bridge between MG and YA. It’s a hard one to gauge – we, as authors, should be writing for our target audience and “YA” traditionally means between the ages of 12-18 (although those ages could shift slightly depending on who you ask). But, of course, those readers age and want books that have aged with them – I don’t think it’s necessarily about shifting the balance in a particular direction, more so publishing books that cater to all those different readers within a very broad age category.
Wibke Brueggemann: I think there are corners of UKYA that are still resisting the adultification, and I am always so very pleased when I see it. However, especially over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a trend where even UKYA is leaning further and further into the adult market, and therefore a bunch of readers who are leaving the MG shelves behind may not find what they’re looking for. I think it would be fantastic if the teen market could be catered for with greater enthusiasm again.
Malcolm Duffy: The issue with YA often lies with schools, parents and publishers. They don’t want children reading material that contains too much swearing, sex, violence. While YA can’t ignore these topics, authors have a responsibility to handle these topics sensitively.
I’m not a fan of the adultification of YA. If you want an adult read, read an adult book. There is no chapter in any of my stories I’d be embarrassed or wary of reading to any year group from 7-12 in any school anywhere in the country. If an author can’t say that, perhaps they haven’t written a YA book.
I don’t think YA needs to strike a balance between teens and older readers. A YA book should appeal to young adults. If older readers enjoy the stories, all well and good.
How do you think UKYA will evolve in the coming five years?
Ravena Guron: The championing of UKYA in recent years has been incredible, and it’s really allowed a range of new debut voices to come through. I do hope that support continues, and allows UKYA to continue to head into a diverse, exciting direction.
Wibke Brueggemann: I’d love to say we’re going to talk about difficult, challenging, and unpleasant topics and put the world to rights, but I don’t see it happening. I think ‘clean teen’ is back for the younger YA readers, and I think adultification is going to continue in the upper YA market. I believe we’re going to see big issues, important issues, like wars, social injustice, and environmental destruction discussed only in the relative safe packaging of past events or as something that is set in the future or a fantasy world altogether.
Malcolm Duffy: My wishes over the next five years for UKYA: UKYA will continue to explore difficult and misunderstood topics, that freedom of speech prevails, the end of cancel culture, that libraries stay open, and that social media is used as a force for good.
For more interviews, check here and don’t forget to check instagram (here) for book recommendations from these authors and more!
#UKYASpotlight 
Leave a comment