The Annual Event is a month long celebration of all things UKYA, highlighting books by British and Irish authors (resident and national) and asking their views on topic affecting the community. All views are the author’s own.
About the Authors:
Tia Fisher writes books for the rebel inside her. She spent her youth desperate to escape the boredom of a tiny village in Norfolk, writing poems of love and rebellion and reading indiscriminately through the shelves of the local library. After being expelled from boarding school and dropping out of university, Tia had a bewildering variety of jobs – from TV presenter to ESOL teacher to artists’ model – before finding her happy place working in libraries and writing stories. In her fifties, she went back to university, and is now the proud owner of a master’s degree in writing for young people. She recently moved back to Norwich and now she loves it.
A. K. Adler lives in a Buddhist community in the middle of nowhere. They walk in the woods every day, and would probably be happy never to go into a city again (as long as they have access to online shopping).
Becky Jerams is a Portsmouth-based author of heartfelt and funny contemporary fiction, often featuring a real-life musical twist. Her debut novel “The Songs You’ve Never Heard” (co-written with Ellie Wyatt) was shortlisted for The YA Book Prize 2023 and featured an accompanying album of original pop songs to listen to alongside the story.
As a songwriter, Becky’s music has been featured on TV shows, films, and by international artists. She’s obsessed with musical theatre, Eurovision, cheesy teen rom-coms, and curating epic Spotify playlists. She lives by the sea with her husband, and can often be found dancing around the living room to Taylor Swift.
About their books:
Title: NOT GOING TO PLAN
Author: Tia Fisher
Pitch: NOT GOING TO PLAN is an intensely topical YA verse novel about the right to make your own choices. When Marnie is expelled from her independent school, she finds unexpected friendship at the comprehensive with introverted Zed. Marnie (excellent at art but no good with numbers) can’t wait to lose her virginity, whereas Zed (marvellous at maths but a loser at languages) is a loner who can’t stand being touched. So far, so funny. But can their friendship survive when Marnie experiences sexual assault and an unplanned pregnancy which might mess up both their futures?
Find on Goodreads. Find on Bookshop.org (affiliate link).
Title: FRACTURED DREAMER
Author: A. K. Adler
Pitch: Fans of Maggie Stiefvater and Aiden Thomas will love this bittersweet romance about finding your centre, finding home, and finding joy in who you are.
Find on Goodreads.
Title: THE SONGS YOU’VE NEVER HEARD
Author: Becky Jerams
Pitch: Meg McCarthy has always lived in the shadow of her older brother, teen pop star Caspar. Her chaotic, fame-hungry family barely notice she exists—let alone that she secretly writes her own music. Online, she’s ‘Lost-Girl’: witty, anonymous, and hopelessly in love with her internet BFF Matty (who has no idea she’s actually the sarcastic girl who glares at him in school). When a bedroom jam session with new friend Alana inexplicably goes viral, Meg must find the confidence to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Includes an original album of real-life pop songs.
Find on Goodreads. Find on Bookshop.org (affiliate link).
In your opinion, how has social media helped foster the UKYA community?
Tia Fisher: Social media allows authors and readers to connect in ways they’ve never been able to before.
A. K. Adler: I’m ambivalent about social media. On the one hand, it can be a way of finding your tribe, but on the other, the algorithms feed our confirmation bias and make us feel like our tribe is the only one. The bookish community on social media does tend to be more welcoming and inclusive, though – that’s the only content I engage with anymore.
Becky Jerams: Social media is a brilliant way for authors and readers to build a community and connect with each other – I love being able to chat to readers through stories and posts, and keep up with new releases from all the authors I love. It’s a great way to build connections and relationships even when we can’t all be in the same place physically!
In which ways do you think we can responsibly use social media to introduce YA titles to teenagers? How can we go beyond social media to reach them, given conversations in several countries around re-thinking current legislation on such platforms for minors?
Tia Fisher: Via librarians and teachers, and by sign-up, moderated book clubs.
A. K. Adler: An interesting ethical question! I believe our main responsibility as authors is to write books that will help young adults grow into better people. If we hold that intention, then the way we present our books on social media will naturally be appropriate. I have more of a quandary around the use of CPC advertising, which is one of the principal ways that indie authors can reach a wider audience.
Becky Jerams: I think events such as YALC are a great way to connect with teen readers and I really hope more events such as these will pop up in the future. It is also great to connect with readers via schools and libraries, and perhaps more school libraries can engage with social media on behalf of the teens they source books for.
How do you think the YA market is going to change thanks to emerging technologies like AI?
Tia Fisher: I fear for the quality of writing and the rights and incomes of authors.
A. K. Adler: I have no idea. I’m quite looking forward to finding out.
Becky Jerams: I feel like readers may start to lose attention span due to overusing AI, and begin to want very niche books tailored specifically to their tastes. It is up to the YA market to keep up with all these recent developments and make sure to keep telling vibrant, exciting and funny stories that will engage a teen readership and compete with recent tech.
What steps would you like publishing needs to take in response to the rise of AI?
Tia Fisher: Robust permission-seeking from AI developers.
A. K. Adler: Honestly, I’m not worried about it. There are already millions of authors competing for attention. Maybe one day an AI will write a good book. Great; a good book is a good book. If it makes the world a better place – or even uplifts one kid’s mind for a day or two – then isn’t that a good thing?
Becky Jerams: I think AI needs to be used responsibly and as a tool to help authors (and readers) rather than something that replaces art and creativity. I think publishing has to be really careful around AI artwork and also protecting books from being plagiarised without the author’s consent. It would be great if publishing could speak out and push back more publicly with these issues.
Thank you all! 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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