Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as friendship, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. Stories that focus on the challenges of youth may be further categorized as social or coming-of-age novels.
Sarah Dessen is an American novelist who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Born in Illinois, Dessen graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her first book, That Summer, was published in 1996. She has since published more than a dozen other novels and novellas. In 2017, Dessen won the Margaret Edwards Award for some of her work. Two of her books were adapted into the 2003 film How to Deal.
Quentin Lee is a Hong Kong-born Canadian-American film writer, director, and producer. He is most notable for the television series Comedy InvAsian and feature films The People I've Slept With (2009), Ethan Mao (2004), and Shopping for Fangs (1997), which he co-directed with Justin Lin.
Lauren Myracle is an American writer of young adult fiction. She has written many novels, including the three best-selling "IM" books, ttyl, ttfn and l8r, g8r. Her book Thirteen Plus One was released May 4, 2010.
Caragh M. O'Brien is an American novelist, best known as the author of the Birthmarked trilogy, a series of young adult, dystopian novels. Her books take place in a world destroyed by climate change. She also wrote an adult novel, Annie Bot, about a malfunctioning gynoid companion, under the pen name Sierra Greer.
Rainbow Rowell is an American author known for young adult and adult contemporary novels. Her young adult novels Eleanor & Park (2012), Fangirl (2013), and Carry On (2015) have been subjects of critical acclaim.
Jenny Han is an An author, screenwriter, executive producer, and showrunner. She is best known for writing The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy, which she adapted into a TV series for Prime Video. She also wrote the To All the Boys trilogy which was adapted into a Netflix film series.
Angie Thomas is an American young adult author, best known for writing The Hate U Give (2017). Her second young adult novel, On the Come Up, was released on February 25, 2019.
Children of Blood and Bone is a 2018 young adult romantic fantasy novel by Nigerian-American novelist Tomi Adeyemi. The book, Adeyemi's debut novel and the first in a planned trilogy, follows heroine Zélie Adebola as she attempts to restore magic to the kingdom of Orïsha, following the ruling class kosidáns' brutal suppression of the class of magic practitioners Zélie belongs to, the maji.
DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults, formerly known as DC Ink, is an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics consisting of original one-shots, graphic novels and reprints of books previously published under other imprints. The imprint intends to present traditional DC Universe characters for young adult readers. The first title of the DC Ink imprint, Mera: Tidebreaker, was published on February 2, 2019 and Batman: Nightwalker was the last title to be published under DC Ink. Wonder Woman: Warbringer, the first title of DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults, was published on January 10, 2020.
Dhonielle Clayton is an American author and chief operating officer of We Need Diverse Books. She has written multiple book series, including The Belles (2018-2023). She also collaborated with Tiffany D. Jackson, Angie Thomas, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon to write Blackout (2021).
The Passenger is a 2022 novel by the American writer Cormac McCarthy. It was released six weeks before its companion novel Stella Maris. The plot of both The Passenger and Stella Maris follows Bobby and Alicia Western, two siblings whose father helped develop the atomic bomb.
Abigail Hing Wen is an American writer, film producer, lawyer and speaker. Her debut young adult novel, Loveboat, Taipei, was purchased in a multi-house auction by HarperCollins in a two-book deal, along with Loveboat Reunion. It debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List where it remained for multiple weeks and has been adapted for film by ACE Entertainment and released through Paramount+ as of August 10, 2023.
Legendborn is a 2020 debut young adult fantasy novel by Tracy Deonn. Called "a modern day twist on Arthurian legend", it follows a black teenage girl who discovers a secret and historically white magic society. The book is the first in the Legendborn series. It was released on September 15, 2020, and it was published under Simon & Schuster/McElderry. Legendborn received the Coretta Scott King Award/John Steptoe Award for New Talent as well as a nomination for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
Cemetery Boys is a young adult urban fantasy novel by Aiden Thomas, published September 1, 2020 by Swoon Reads. The book's placement on the New York Times Bestseller List made history as the first book on the list by an openly transgender author featuring a transgender character.
Blackout is a young adult novel written by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. The book contains six interlinked stories about Black teen love during a power outage in New York City. The book was released on June 22, 2021.
Leah Johnson is an American writer. Her debut novel You Should See Me in a Crown (2020) received critical acclaim, including a Stonewall Book Award Honor. She is the author of Rise to the Sun (2021) and Ellie Engle Saves Herself! (2023).
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin is a 2020 young adult fantasy novel by Ghanaian American writer Roseanne A. Brown. Brown's debut novel inspired by West and North African folktale was published on 2 June 2020 by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins as the first book in a planned duology. It was followed by a sequel; A Psalm of Storms and Silence published in 2021.
Holden Sheppard is an author from Geraldton, Western Australia. His debut young adult (YA) novel, Invisible Boys, won multiple accolades including the 2018 T.A.G. Hungerford Award and the 2019 Western Australian Premier's Book Award. His writing often focuses on themes of masculinity, sexuality and mental health.
Rachel Lynn Solomon is an author of romance novels and young adult literature.
