#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
Kate S. Martin grew up in a small town in Lancashire, England with her mum, dad and two older brothers. She studied English at Reading University and gained a teaching qualification at Manchester. Nowadays, Kate spends her days teaching English at a local high school in Cheshire and her evenings are spent writing stories close to her heart. She believes teenage years can be particularly difficult and wants to create stories that show empathy and hope for her readers.
Since the publication of their first novel in 2016 (The Witch’s Kiss, HarperCollins Children’s Books), sisters Katharine and Elizabeth Corr have gone on to co-write another six YA fantasy novels, encompassing contemporary witchcraft, fairy tale retellings, high fantasy, and Greek mythology. Their most recent novel is Queen of Gods, the second half of the House Of Shadows duology, published by Hot Key Books. They both live in Surrey with their families and are very grateful for cloud-based technology; if they had to physically write in the same room, it would definitely end badly.
About Their Books:
Title: WHAT ABOUT YOU, JOSH MCBRIDE?
Author: Kate S. Martin
Pitch: A sequel to ARE YOU OKAY, ELLIOT HART? This book explores Josh and Elliot’s final year at high school. Can Josh and Elliot face their past demons and look to the future?
Find on Goodreads.
Title: QUEEN OF GODS
Author: Katharine and Elizabeth Corr
Pitch: Adored by both Theron, prince of Thebes, and Nat, the god of Death, Deina scours Poseidon’s kingdom, mount Olympus and the depths of the Underworld for a way to save the mortal realm from the gods. But is she willing to pay the price: becoming the very thing she hates?
Find on Goodreads.
What do you think is special about UKYA?
Kate S. Martin: It’s a community that supports each other and showcases a genre that, I feel, is really special and unique.
Katharine and Elizabeth Corr: UKYA is special because it offers readers a whole selection of books, from all sorts of genres, which celebrate the incredible diversity existing within the UK, as well as UK history and culture.
What distinguishes a YA book from middle grade or adult? Why do you think it’s so popular at the moment?
Kate S. Martin: I believe YA literature should have all the issues that adult fiction can explore (loss, identity, sexuality, relationships, confidence, grief, anxiety…) but it’s through the eyes of a teenager. Teenagers see the world differently. I’ve been a high school teacher for twenty years and teenagers are full to the brim with emotions. YA literature should help readers navigate the complexities of life. It should make them feel seen, listened to, understood whilst providing also providing hope.
Katharine and Elizabeth Corr: Unlike some adult books, YA books tend to have exciting, fast moving plots as well as stand out characters, but they also deal with more complex questions than middle grade books – we think that’s why they’re so popular. Whether the setting is cotemporary, historical or fantasy, YA books offer readers the chance to explore the big issues that people face when standing at the cusp of adult life: who am I, what am I here for, what impact can I have on the world around me?
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?
Kate S. Martin: YA literature has to be through the eyes of a teenager. I believe teenagers don’t often look too far ahead in the future. They very much live in the moment and feel things intensely. YA fiction should demonstrate that. YA fiction has to prioritise what is important to teenagers which can be different to adults. For example, teenagers might be more concerned with parents, identity, body issues, sexuality, first love, and school.
Katharine and Elizabeth Corr: It’s interesting that a number of teen imprints have launched in recent years – for example, Hot Key Teen. Publishers have clearly recognised that teen readers are at risk of being left out of the YA market and are taking steps to address this. We think this is a good development; it’s not really possible to put the genie back in the bottle and ‘de-age’ YA. We’d go further: we’d like to see YA stocked in the adult section of bookshops, and with Teen titles in the children’s section. Perhaps recognising YA as a unique ‘coming of age’ genre as opposed to an age classification (given most YA readers are not teenagers or even necessarily young adults) would help establish YA more securely.
How do you think UKYA will evolve in the coming five years?
Kate S. Martin: I hope it continues to be successful and celebrated. I love reading and writing YA fiction. I love teaching teenagers. Teenage years can be difficult and challenging. YA fiction needs to continue to give them a safe space and a voice.
Katharine and Elizabeth Corr: We expect see even more diverse voices in UKYA in the future, in particular more novels that explore young adulthood from the point of view of differently abled people. We hope UKYA will continue to grow stronger, and we’d love to see UK publishers prioritise UK authors over US buy-ins.
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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