*I wrote this piece recently for inclusion on the Wheeler Centre website, but we ended up turning it into a more general article to word up the general public on the #LoveOzYA movement. So I've put this up here: an article on #LoveOzYA just for authors. Thanks to Simmone Howell for proofing, and for reassuring me that it didn't sound too 'Voice of the People'.
The
#LoveOzYA campaign has been a topic of conversation recently. Much has been made, in the last few years, of the fact that Young Adult
Lit is a growth area in the publishing market, and I suppose that may have
lulled us into feeling as if we’re all doing okay. But when the May 2015 Australian Library Information
Association lists revealed that of the
top ten most-borrowed YA titles in Australian libraries, only two titles were
Australian-made, it was (as Emily Gale pointed out) a kick in the pants. We realised that we needed to have a
conversation about this. That conversation
flowered into a realisation that much work is yet to be done in the promotion of
Australian YA stories for local teenage readers – and that the responsibility
is on us to make it happen.
It’s
not the situation that Australian YA books aren’t being read because they’re
not good. They are good – let me qualify
that further and say, they’re excellent. But other market issues are at work. Blogger and emerging YA writer Danielle Binks
has written articles in Kill Your
Darlings and Kids Book Review that
explain how local YA is ‘being underrated in its own market by global forces’,
specifically how local voices in the market are often crowded out by the number
of overseas buy-ins and blockbuster titles. How Every Breath made it onto the ALIA
list is still a mystery to me (not that I'm not happy!), but it's noteworthy that it was the only title without a movie tie-in or a big marketing budget. Without that external big-budget push, more
needs to happen to promote homegrown YA literature if we would like to see the
industry continue to thrive, and our own work to be read and sold. Not all that work can be done by
already-stretched publishers, or literature organisations that have just been
de-funded. Clearly, we need to shoulder
some of this responsibility ourselves.
That’s how the #LoveOzYA campaign came into being.
From
an author’s standpoint, I guess I feel like we’re coming from a point of
vulnerability. We pour our hearts out
into our work, in ways that leave us feeling shaky and exposed. We’re often living ‘balancing-act’ lives,
juggling day jobs, parenting, writing – and with that often comes financial
instability, which can make us feel like we’re on a literal tightrope. The recent disembowelling of the Australia
Council has left us even more vulnerable.
We’re working without a safety net.
But in
some ways, I suppose none of that is new.
Justine Larbalestier said it well: “Making a living as an artist of any
kind is a long shot”. But what can we do,
as individuals, that can make a difference when we’re already strung so thin? Well, we can sit back helplessly…or we can act.
The
first thing we can do is be visible, and use that visibility talk about #LoveOzYA. We’re in the middle of Book Week, the
mad-busy time for writers all over. It’s
a great reminder of what we already know, as authors: that the time of writing
and delivering a manuscript and then retiring quietly to our writing caves has
long passed. It’s necessary to come out
into the light in person – to visit at schools and libraries, to attend
festivals and speaking events, to communicate with a wider readership and
support network online, and to engage with the larger community in
general. If we want to support an effort
to promote and profile-raise for Aussie YA books, we need to continue to be
visible, and to speak about #LoveOzYA when given the opportunity.
We can
also get in touch with organisations. We’re well-placed to contact organisations
like the Australian Society of Authors, the Australasian Children’s Literature
Association for Research, SCBWI and writer’s organisations in our own states,
and let them know we’re on board with the campaign – and encourage them to get
involved. Other organisations who work
in schools to promote Aussie literature, including the Centre for Youth
Literature, IBBY, YABBA, the Australian Children’s Laureate Alliance, the CBCA
and The Stella Prize, might also like to know we’re pitching in.
As authors, we also have support networks of
other kinds – the large community of teachers, librarians and booksellers, who are always keen to be supportive, and the growing community of reviewers, book bloggers and
book tubers out there who are actively seeking books to love and promote. Heck, our publishers might
like to know we’re supporting the campaign (which they will surely appreciate). We also have our networks at home – local
bookstores, local and high school libraries.
We can let them know we’re supporting the campaign, and suggest that
they come aboard.
The
best way to communicate the message is by being
positive. It can be dispiriting when
we go into our local library or bookstore and see that they aren’t stocking our
titles – or the titles of other Aussie authors.
But librarians, teachers and booksellers really want to help: having a healthy local publishing industry benefits them,
too. We’re all professionals, and our
relationships are based on respect and friendship…and we all love books. In our exchanges with people who work in the
wider networks of reading and literature, it’s important to give positive
encouragement.
Ultimately,
this is an industry based on mutual support.
None of us would make it without a helping hand – we encourage each
other, give suggestions and advice, share information, and help spread the buzz
about new work at release time. So the
#LoveOzYA campaign is about more than just profile-raising for the industry:
it’s about creating a close-knit community.
As individuals, we can do our bit, but united, we’re more than the sum
of our parts.
And
that’s another key thing we can do: support
other authors and create community.
We all read widely in the category to stay up-to-date with what’s
happening, and we’ve all read awesome books by other Aussie authors, books we
would happily press into someone else’s hand.
Applaud and encourage each other, and talk about other Aussie YA authors
when you have the chance – they will undoubtedly love you for it, and return
the favour. You will never hurt your own
career by supporting other writers.
Giving other authors a leg-up is really a form of self-help.
But probably
the most important thing we should be doing is: our job. We need to keep writing. Without the
books, there’s nothing to promote – and nothing to nurture the steadily growing
interest of readers. We can find support,
where and when we need it: from family, friends, writers’ networks and
organisations, and the wider community of OzYA authors. We can reach out for advice and information,
and remember that we’re not struggling alone.
Please
keep writing! We need Australian
stories, told in Australian voices, in which Australian kids can see themselves
reflected. We are the people who write
those stories. Keep writing, #LoveOzYA, and
don’t lose heart.
xxEllie
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