#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
J. J. A. Harwood is an author, editor and podcaster. She has published two YA fantasy novels: the Sunday Times-bestselling The Shadow in the Glass and The Thorns Remain. You can also find her on the silly and sweary D&D podcast, Lads on Tour.
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Matt Killeen has had many careers but kept coming back to writing. He has made a living as an advertising copywriter and creative, a music and sports journalist, and all-round wordsmith for hire. He fulfilled a childhood ambition by becoming a writer for the LEGO® company in 2010, and continues to create LEGO licensed books for Ameet Publishing. Now a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund, he also teaches creative writing and works for PC Gamer and GamesRadar. His US Bestselling debut Orphan Monster Spy was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards and the Branford Boase Award, as well as winning the 2019 SCBWI Crystal Kite. It forms the basis of his work with schools around the world on the dangers of fascism, as well as the moral complexity of war and resistance. The sequel, Devil Darling Spy, continues Sarah’s journey, and was published in spring 2020, just as the world ended.
Annaliese Avery is a YA fantasy/ romantacy author. She also writes epic fantasy adventures for younger readers. A former Library manager, Annaliese has an MA in creative writing and has worked as an editor and creative writing tutor. Annaliese often shares her project management, creative bullet journaling, and goalsetting skills with other authors. Despite being organised she never plans her novels and terrifies other authors by deleting her first drafts.
About Their Books:
Title: THE THORNS REMAIN
Author: J. J. A. Harwood
Pitch: Set in the Scottish Highlands after WWI, The Thorns Remain tells the story of Moira Jean, a grieving young woman who makes a bargain with a dangerous fae to save her stolen friends. But what will she give up to bring them home?
Find on Goodreads.
Title: DESI GIRL SPEAKING
Author: Matt Killeen
Pitch:
Sarah is used to spying in the champagne-fuelled parties of Nazi Berlin. But now she must track a deadly virus through central Africa and unmask the mysterious White Devil before the disease can be turned into a weapon. A terrified little girl, or a warrior set to burn them all?
Find on Goodreads.
Title: THE WYCHERLEYS
Author: Annaliese Avery
Pitch: None of the season’s debutante witches want to tether their magic to cursed Aurelia Wycherley, but rival Jules Nightly, whose ancestor cursed her family line, may hold the cure. Expect family secrets, generational curses, forbidden romance, gorgeous ballgowns, bribery, extortion, trespass, magic and kissing . . . lots of kissing.
Find on Goodreads.
What do you think is special about UKYA?
J. J. A. Harwood: I love how it isn’t afraid to be a little bit strange. I think as an author it’s tempting to want to make sure that your work always stays palatable for a wider audience, but the books I really love aren’t afraid to be a bit weird and messy and to push some boundaries. British and Irish YA is great for that!
Matt Killeen: I think we take risks that others do not. That’s tough in a risk averse industry, but when it pays off, it’s very special.
Annaliese Avery: UKYA is such a rich pool of talent. We are definitely in a golden age of YA at the moment. Every month there are so many exciting books being published, I wish I could clone myself so that I could get through my TBR mountain! I also love the online championing of YA books especially BookTok and Bookstagram – there are so many gloriously talented creators out there generating a buzz for readers.
What distinguishes a YA book from middle grade or adult? Why do you think it’s so popular at the moment?
J. J. A. Harwood: For me, a YA book always feels transitive. Young adulthood is a time when you’re feeling a lot of things out and moving from one phase of your life to another, and a really good YA novel will reflect that sense of progression. I think that’s part of why it’s so popular right now – such a lot of things are changing that people want to see that reflected in fiction.
Matt Killeen: The stock answer is “a teenage protagonist” but I think it goes deeper than that. The stakes are always high – because even the most mundane events are life-changing, with an intensity that only adolescence brings – and no matter how dark it gets there’s an optimism, a belief in better, even if that’s ultimately denied. Something like that 🙂
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?
J. J. A. Harwood: I think in some way there has to be adult elements to YA – it’s not like teens won’t come across adult issues in real life and it would be talking down to them to pretend that those issues aren’t there. It varies book by book but one of the things I am proudest of as a YA author is that it’s a space that treats younger readers more like adults and allows them to make up their own minds about any issues that get discussed in fiction. However I do think that it’s important to remember that teens can sometimes idolise things in fiction that might not be so great in real life – I know I certainly did as a teenager – and so it’s important to think through the implications of everything that you’re writing.
Matt Killeen: I was disappointed that “New Adult” didn’t work out as a marketing category – and in the end that’s what these are – because we’re already doing it (not necessarily in the UK.) The YA readers of THG and Twilight are full-on adults, but they’re still reading YA. I’d like to see a place for that – growing more complex and darker and riskier – and a well stocked, well marketed and appealing teen selection – which I think is a bit lacking? Or maybe I’m out of touch…
Annaliese Avery: I think this is a complex question that no soundbite is going to solve. As a former librarian I am aware of the need to have books that are safe spaces for readers, we want them to feel comfortable with what they are reading and sometimes that is not clearly signposted until a reader finds themselves between the pages an in a place that they don’t want to be in. Maybe it is about creating a system for informing readers on the content of the book so that they can make informed decisions before they open that first page.
How do you think UKYA will evolve in the coming five years?
J. J. A. Harwood: It’s been really great to see how YA has become more inclusive of both characters and readers with a wide range of life experiences. I really hope that this is a trend that will continue!
Matt Killeen: Wish I knew! I’m excited to find out.
Annaliese Avery: Gosh, I really wish that I knew the answer to that one. I hope that we will see the continued growth we are at the moment that more new and exciting voices will tell their stories and that readers will have even more opportunities to seek themselves out in book as well as experiencing vicariously the life of others. Personally, as a reader, I’d like to see a bit more Sci-fi! I’ve just started reading The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson and I am loving it.
For more interviews, check here and don’t forget to check instagram (here) for book recommendations from these authors and more!
#UKYASpotlight 
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