How can booksellers and librarians supply the interests of their teenage customers yet stay connected with that crucial 18-35 year old demographic—the ones who still read and buy YA titles in great numbers? The recent success of Little Brown’s Twilight Series highlights the need for industry professionals to be proactive in supplying fresh and fascinating titles for this burgeoning market.
The opening speaker for this event was Lizzie Skurnick. The Fine Lines columnist for Jezebel.com, has written on books and culture for the New York Times Book Review, NYT Sunday Styles, the LA Times, NPR.org, The Washington Post and more. Her blog, Old Hag, was a Forbes Best of the Web pick. The author of Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading, Skurnick has also written titles in the Sweet Valley, Love Stories and Alias series.
The response panelists were Libba Bray, the 2010 Printz Award winning author of Going Bovine and the crossover favorite Gemma Doyle Trilogy; Ellen Loughran, Visiting Associate Professor at Pratt SILS (YA Literature and Services), has served on the ALA/YALSA Printz and Alex Award Committees as well as ALA’s Notable Books Council; Jennifer Bailey Hunt, Editorial Director, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, has guided the publication of numerous YA crossover mega successes. The event was hosted by Barbara A. Genco, Editor, Collection Management, Library Journal.
