#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
Ella McLeod is a writer, poet and podcaster, who lives in South London with her fiancé and cat. She also co-hosts Comfort Creatures on the Maximum Fun Network. Ella loves Shakespeare, the Harlem Renaissance, mythology, ramen, and firmly believes in the radical power of dreaming. Rapunzella, Or Don’t Touch My Hair, is her debut novel. Her second novel, The Map That Led To You, was published in April 2024 and had adult debut Andromeda will be published in May 2026.
Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick is an Irish author and illustrator. She works across the age groups, creating novels and picture books. Her books include Dark Warning, Hagwitch, There and Owl Bat Bat Owl. Her YA novel, On Midnight Beach, received rave reviews and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, the Irish Book Awards and longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards. Sisters of the Moon is her nineteenth book.
Sarah Naughton is a Costa shortlisted author of YA thrillers and psychological thrillers for adults, as well as a Sherlock Holmes series, co-written with Anthony Horowitz. Her books have been translated into 14 languages. Sarah lives in London with her husband and sons.
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About Their Books:
Title: THE MAP THAT LED TO YOU
Author: Ella McLeod
Pitch: Part contemporary romantasy, part swashbuckling adventure with lush, cosy vibes. Levi and his sister Vega navigate the pirate republic and embark on the adventure of a lifetime. In a future time, Reggie and new-girl Maeve seek the truth about the pirates who are supposedly the villains of their island’s history…
Find on Goodreads.
Title: SISTERS OF THE MOON
Author: Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
Pitch: Suzy Button is struggling. She has no friends in her new school and her periods have gone AWOL, so she wishes for change on a full moon. Into her life walks Rhiannon, and things shift in mysterious ways. A story of female friendship, moon magic, and managing your inner voices.
Find on Goodreads.
Title: YOUR TIME IS UP
Author: Sarah Naughton
Pitch: Zaina never meant to get involved. The plan was always to focus on her exams, make her dad proud. But none of this is what she’d planned for. Chanelle never made it to the exam; Nero’s convinced he saw something last night and Ysla can’t stop crying. As Zaina starts to scratch the surface of secrets which desperately want to stay hidden, she begins to wonder … how far will they go to keep her from the truth? ‘Your Time is Up’ is real-time thriller set over the course of a maths A-Level exam
Find on Goodreads.
What do you think is special about UKYA?
Ella McLeod: The quality, the dry sense of humour and the pithy dialogue
Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick: Apparently there were YA books available in the 1970s, but they weren’t very visible/accessible in Catholic Ireland. I went straight from Enid to adult and read a heap of extremely pulpy books to bridge the gap. As a result I find the sheer variety of UKYA out there today – the range, and the quality of the writing – pretty astonishing!
Sarah Naughton: It’s intelligent and beautifully written. We are blessed to have writers of such genius, like Patrick Ness and Alice Oseman. The quality is just so high.
What distinguishes a YA book from middle grade or adult? Why do you think it’s so popular at the moment?
Ella McLeod: The thorny, emotional messiness of coming of age! I think whether you’re experiencing it right now or reflecting on it with the benefit of hindsight, it’s such a humanising and universal experience. Everyone has been an angsty, we all relate.
Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick: YA novels are so pacy. They are often written in first person – very immediate and easy to get stuck into. Whenever I start an ‘adult’ novel I usually need to set aside a chunk of time to establish the voice/story/characters in my head. YA novels can be challenging, emotional rollercoasters, beautifully written, have complex structures and ideas, but there’s always an emphasis on pace and accessibility, on opening the page to the reader, not making them work their socks off. Many deal with darkness, dystopia, mental health issues, tough life stuff, but they’re rarely full-on bleak/nihilistic. Also, they may leave you with an open ending but never of the barn door/wait-a-minute-where’d-the-story-go variety.
Sarah Naughton: YA has all the good stuff of adult literature – love, hate, jealousy, pain, terror – but without the boring stuff, like mortgages and jobs.
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?
Ella McLeod: I think UKYA tends to sit really nicely in the middle but we do need to be wary of following trends that skew the space older. That absolutely does not mean patronising our readership and omitting things like swearing, trauma and burgeoning sexuality. We just have to bear in mind that we’re writing first and foremost for a demographic who will likely be experiencing a lot of these things for the first time. While it’s wonderful that so many adults love the YA space, we should always prioritise our teen readers.
Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick: I think it’s about not deliberately tilting the industry towards adult YA readers, not over-commissioning crossover titles, and definitely not putting all the PR/sales drive there. Adults are a bonus readership, not the target. To me the 13-16 age group is so important because that’s where so many stop reading for pleasure. All ages need to be catered for with fabulous and intriguing page-turners.
Sarah Naughton: When I was a teen I devoured everything by Robert Westall and Alan Garner but I also enjoyed books intended for the adult market (especially James Herbert). The great thing about books is that no one stops you buying them because you’re underage. I actually think the distinction between YA and adult is quite arbitrary, and tends just to come down to the age of the protagonist. YA books should have mature themes as they are helping to prepare you for the adult world.
How do you think UKYA will evolve in the coming five years?
Ella McLeod: I’m not sure but I would like to see further delineation between age ranges within YA, a 13 year old reader is so different to a 17 old reader and I would love to see more discussion around this.
Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick: I think the push to publish books which are inclusive and diverse will continue. As for trends… no clue!
Sarah Naughton: I imagine Romantasy will consume everything and we will all be writing about sexy fairies.
For more interviews, check here and don’t forget to check instagram (here) for book recommendations from these authors and more!
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