The State of Young Adult Science Fiction
A couple weeks ago I attended the DFW Writers Conference in Dallas, TX. DFWCon was a great event, with lots of fantastic speakers and agents and editors, but one conversation I had really stood out above all the others.
That conversation was with Susan Chang, senior editor at TOR Teen, a division of Macmillan that focuses in on teen and young adult science fiction and fantasy.
Ms. Chang is one of the people who knows what’s what in teen publishing, so she spoke with elegance and poise throughout our conversation at the DFWCon mixer, whereas I was content to stand there and drool all over my drink, soaking in the wisdom of the universe.
One of the things Ms. Chang said during our long conversation was that she was a little disappointed at the state of young adult science fiction lately.
I was surprised. Here she was, one of the most prominent editors of teen sci-fi and fantasy, and she was almost lamenting that the whole genre was going downhill. But she explained, and what she had to say really made me think.
Susan Chang was looking for young adult science fiction like The Left Hand of Darkness
The discussion started over Ursula K. Leguin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. Now, I have to say, The Left Hand of Darkness is not a novel for everyone, but it is certainly a fascinating read that asks some really BIG questions about society, human nature, and cultural values. And that was Ms. Chang’s point. She wants more of that.
Science fiction has always been a genre with lofty aspirations. When you look back at the evolution of science fiction, you see a long list of authors who looked at our modern world through the lens of technology and futurism, hoping to distill the larger issues of society down into a digestible chunk that will both sour in your stomach and leave you wanting more. Science fiction asks big questions, and trusts its readers to answer those questions with both their heads and their hearts.
Looking at the state of young adult science fiction and fantasy, however, we’ve seen a trend away from those old grand ideas and toward Michael Bay explosions and kids running for their lives. Not that there’s anything wrong with that—it all has its place—it’s just that this is a different kind of book. Those are Action/Adventure books with a dash of sci-fi. I’d even daresay that I’ve been guilty of trying to pass off action/adventure stories as science fiction myself.
So where have all the young adult science fiction writers gone?
They’re still here, they’re just writing it differently. Some of them aren’t getting press. Some of them are pumping their grand ideas into the action/adventure formula, hoping to make a buck off blockbuster sales (nothing wrong with this, either).
But what Ms. Chang was saying was that it’s time for more of that good old science fiction to make its way back into the young adult and middle grade scene. Stories that will get teens—whose minds are ready to be challenged—to look at the world in ways that they haven’t before.
So what can we expect from young adult science fiction in the future?
If people like Susan Chang and the countless agents I’ve heard looking for these stories are any kind of measure, I can bet that in the next five years we’re going to see a shift toward some of these grander stories on the teen shelves. That also means that at around the five-year mark, we’ll also start seeing more classic science fiction stories appearing on the big screen (if it still exists) that feature young adult protagonists as well. Heck, we might even see a resurgence of Star Trek in the form of a young adult TV series centered around the Wesley Crushers of the universe (okay, now I’m dreaming).
The point is, the landscape is changing. Stories are evolving. And that, my friends, is a very good thing for sci-fi.
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