This Week in YA — Issue #58
Welcome to the Voyage newsletter!
It’s another new week and another installment of this newsletter for you this week, my fellow YA enthusiasts. It’s also Valentine’s Day and Galentine’s Day, so we’ve got plenty of love-themed recommendations, as well as an interview with a favorite YA author whose latest book launches today. All of the heart-shaped confetti heading your way!
News and Resources
Publishers Weekly features Four Authors on Transitioning to YA Romance. I’m excited to see these books on shelves!
Check it out—another great list for your YA Black History Month reading is available here: Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List for Teens.
Dahlia at LGBTQ Reads recently shared her Most Anticipated Young Adult Books: January-June 2023.
Caitlyn at NPR covered 5 YA books this winter dealing with identity and overcoming hardships. I really love these picks—and one of them is right next to me at the top of my TBR pile!
Kelly at Book Riot asks What Do 10 Years of the New York Times Young Adult Bestseller Lists Say About YA? As someone who does not remember a time when there wasn’t a NYT YA Bestseller list, I found this fascinating.
Finally, I stumbled across this post by Kwan Kew Lai On Book Events, and wow, did that resonate with me. If you’re wondering what it’s like to set up bookish events (as a non-famous, non-bestselling author), there’s some great insight here.
The 5 Questions Interview Series
Each week, this newsletter will include interviews with industry professionals sharing insight about the who, what, where, when, why in YA today.
Today we’ve got an interview with YA author Gloria Chao. I absolutely loved her debut novel, American Panda, and she’s since published two more YA novels (Our Wayward Fate and Rent a Boyfriend), but I can’t even with how much I can’t wait to read her latest, When You Wish Upon a Lantern. The good news is that it’s out today, so the wait is over!
5 Questions Interview with Gloria Chao, YA author
ABOUT WHEN YOU WISH UPON A LANTERN
Acclaimed author Gloria Chao creates real-world magic in this luminous romance about teens who devote themselves to granting other people’s wishes, but are too afraid to let themselves have their own hearts’ desires—each other.
Liya and Kai had been best friends since they were little kids, but all that changed when a humiliating incident sparked The Biggest Misunderstanding Of All Time—and they haven’t spoken since.
Then Liya discovers her family’s wishing lantern store is struggling, and she decides to resume a tradition she had with her beloved late grandmother: secretly fulfilling the wishes people write on the lanterns they send into the sky. It may boost sales and save the store, but she can’t do it alone … and Kai is the only one who cares enough to help.
While working on their covert missions, Liya and Kai rekindle their friendship—and maybe more. But when their feuding families and their changing futures threaten to tear them apart again, can they find a way to make their own wishes come true?
ABOUT GLORIA CHAO
Gloria Chao is an acclaimed author and screenwriter. Her novels include American Panda, Our Wayward Fate, Rent a Boyfriend, and When You Wish Upon a Lantern (out 2.14.2023). After a brief detour as a dentist, she is now grateful to spend her days in fictional characters’ heads instead of real people’s mouths. When she’s not writing, you can find her on the curling ice, where she and her husband are world-ranked in mixed doubles.
Her award-winning books have received starred trade reviews; were Junior Library Guild, Indie Next List, YALSA Teens’ Top 10, Amelia Bloomer List, and YALSA Amazing Audiobook selections; and were featured on the “Best of” lists of Seventeen, Bustle, Barnes & Nobles, PopSugar, Paste Magazine, Booklist, Chicago Public Library, Bank Street, and more.
1. Who: Who are your instabuy, go-to YA authors? And which new talent have you discovered recently?
I have so many! In no particular order, some of them are Samira Ahmed, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Nicola Yoon, David Arnold, Emiko Jean, Julian Winters, Stephanie Kate Strohm, Adam Silvera, Axie Oh, Kat Cho. A new talent I discovered in the last year who is also now an instabuy author for me is Ann Liang, the author of If You Could See the Sun and This Time It’s Real.
2. What: What was the most joyful moment in preparing to bring When You Wish Upon a Lantern into the world?
Writing the book was very joyful. I wrote it at a time when I needed to remind myself that there’s magic in the world, and I set out to write a contemporary book that feels like magic. It’s a celebration of the beauty in everyday moments, of love, of community. The book is also a love letter to my culture. Seeing readers’ excitement for it has meant the world. Thank you all for your support. I hope you feel a little of the magic I felt while writing it when you read.
3. Where: Where is the state of YA right now, from where you sit? Where do you hope to see it go next?
Seeing the increase in POC authors every year is wonderful, but there’s still plenty of room. I hope representation continues to grow so we can better capture the breadth of experiences that is out there. Writers, we need your stories, and if I can do it, so can you!
4. When: Looking ahead to next year (or beyond), what exciting things are next on the horizon for you?
I have a short story in the anthology First-Year Orientation, which has interconnected stories following different students on their first day of college. It will be out on April 4. I have some other exciting things in the works that I wish I could share but can’t at this time. My goal for the future—my lantern wish, if you will—is to continue writing stories, finding homes for them, and having them find their readers for as long as I can.
5. Why: Why YA? What draws you to writing for this age group?
YA has always been where my heart is. I fell in love with YA books when I was miserable in dental school, and it’s a dream come true getting to write them. YA stories are bold, brave, and honest, and they explore the universal challenge of figuring out who you are. Getting to write for the age group when I most needed to know that I wasn’t alone is a privilege and the reason I try to write as honestly as I can.
Writing Inspiration from Kip
My third novel just published last month, so bookish events are definitely on my mind. I definitely have fewer events planned this time around, and that’s probably why Kwan Kew Lai’s piece (linked above) really resonated with me. First off, I think most authors realize getting a book published at all (especially these days) is a huge accomplishment and cause for celebration. I know I do! But it can be challenging to figure out how much to “do,” especially when it comes down to you the individual author to do the planning.
I was extremely lucky to be part of a fabulous imprint launch (Versify) with my debut—and I knew even as things were happening that they never would again to that degree for me! And things were still a bit dicey with COVID last year when my sophomore novel released, so I ended up with a mix of a couple of events planned by my publisher, a couple of virtual events, and a couple of additional events I set up.
This time around, things are definitely different. My book was published with HarperCollins. I very much support the union, as most authors surely do. I’m glad to see there’s an agreement underway, but I have definitely missed the staff who supported my other books, and reading Kwan Kew Lai’s piece about setting up events hit home. So for anyone with a release in the future (or dreams of a future debut), hang in there and do what’s best for you!
Thank you for joining me on this voyage!