Cirrus@Austlit

Drawing upon ideas of practice-led research outlined by Webb and Brien (2008), and considering these within the context of my own creative practice, this article explores the intersections of the positions of writer-as-teacher, writer-as-artist, and writer-as-scholar. This is contextualized with reference to three of my creative works from different phases of my career, A New Kind of Dreaming (2001 ), Fireshadow (2005) and Daywards (2010). Framed by Webb’s argument for the appropriateness of Bourdieu’s ideas of practice-led research (2012) and Nodelman’s suggestions about the relationship between habitus and the agency of young-adult writers (2008), it will examine the degree to which my construction of young protagonists has been shaped by, and has in turn shaped, my changing habitus as a practicing young adult writer and scholar of children’s literature. Drawing upon my dual roles as scholar and teacher of creative writing within the academy, and reader and scholar of children’s literature studies, it argues that the liminality of the scholarly/creative space emerging from this nexus has impacted upon the ways I consider and construct my ‘child’ characters and my own position in relation to them.'

Source: Abstract.

Australia is not immune to the universal, and seemingly exponential, growing appeal of bestselling Young Adult fiction. The 2015 Sydney Writers’ Festival, for instance, staged three separate events to reflect the rising popularity of this genre of writing, showcasing successful Australian authors as both panel members and facilitators of discussion related to issues facing the category. While debate touched on familiar points of contention such as the appropriateness and advocacy of content marketed as Young Adult fiction and for young adult readers, discussion centred on the growing appeal Young Adult fiction has for readers, writers, publishers and film-makers. This article extends discourse relating to international bestselling Young Adult fiction and provides research that, in scholarly terms, has eluded significant inquiry thus far. In examining this appeal, this article questions how increased stakeholder involvement is impacting patterns of readership, content, and genre trends within this category of Young Adult fiction. While the degree of change is not measured quantitatively, this research pinpoints strategies and behaviours exhibited by invested groups and institutions, which are affecting change. This builds on work by Heather Scutter and Sue Page, and references Anthony Eaton, who identifies that changing conceptions of young adulthood, in terms of sophistication, is defining how Young Adult fiction is shaped by those who create, produce and consume it (Eaton 2010).'

Source: Abstract.

'In the world of Young Adult Literature, the perceived impact of certain texts on the moral, social and psychological development of its readers is a cause for debate. The question ‘what is suitable content for a pre-adult readership’ is one guaranteed to produce conflicting, polarising and impassioned responses. Within the context of this debate, the essay explores a number of key questions. Do publishers have a moral obligation to avoid certain topics or should they be pushing the boundaries of teen fiction further? Is it the role of the publisher to consider the impact of books they publish to a teenage audience? Should the potential impact of a book on its reader be considered ahead of a book’s potential to sell and make money? This article analyses criticism and praise for two ‘controversial’ Australian Young Adult books: Sonya Hartnett’s Sleeping Dogs (1997) and John Marsden’s Dear Miffy (1997). It argues that ‘issues-books’ are necessary to the development of teens, and publishers should continue to push the envelope of teen fiction while ensuring they make a concerted effort to produce quality, sensitive and challenging books for a teen market.'

Source: Abstract.

'This article traces the increasing participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and Muslim-Australian authors in the Australian young-adult fiction market. Using bibliographical data drawn from the AustLit database, the article first outlines the general parameters of young-adult publishing in Australia since the 1990s, before specifically examining the works produced by Indigenous Australian and Muslim-Australian authors. These two groups share a significant characteristic: although they are often at the forefront of current Australian public discourse, they are more often the object of such speech than the speaking subject. This article examines the extent to which young-adult fiction provides a platform for these authors.'

Source: Abstract.

'This work is a creative writing exploration of one person’s intersectional trans. experience – a perspective currently underrepresented in Young Adult (YA) fiction – and told through first-person point-of-view. The work uses humour as an inclusive tool for both trans. and broader readership, as well as being a place for trans. identification – particularly female-to-male (f2m). It does not discount the struggles of multiple subject positions, but disrupts and troubles negative associations by inserting an alternate conversation. One that emphasises resilience, and the importance of support in the acquisition of agency.'

Source: Abstract.

'Despite significant scholarly interest in the genre of memoir, the young adult memoir – as a subset of both young adult writing and the memoir more generally – has attracted far less attention. This introductory study understands the young adult memoir as a form of both life writing and creative writing. As a frame to the discussion, it outlines the history of scholarship and interest in young adult non-fiction, and then surveys a number of examples of the contemporary young adult memoir in order to provide a preliminary narrative profile of the form. This includes texts written for young adults by both adult and younger authors, as well as crossover texts. In identifying some common and more unusual subjects and narrative styles and forms, as well as remarking on the voice utilised in these texts, this article posits that the young adult memoir can be described as a distinct sub set of both young adult and life writing texts and is, therefore, worthy of further detailed investigation in terms of these categories, providing a attempt at a preliminary classification of the form.'

Source: Abstract.

'Australian young adult (YA) fiction has a post-apocalyptic tradition that considerably pre-dates dystopia’s current global popularity. Long before characters like Katniss Everdeen and Tris Prior emerged into mainstream popular consciousness, Australian YA fiction gave us several strong heroines struggling for a better life in a post-apocalyptic setting. One such was Elspeth Gordie of Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn Chronicles. The Obernewtyn Chronicles are unusual in that they have been published across a considerable span of time. The first book was published in 1987, while the final instalment is not due to be published until the end of 2015. Numerous readers of the series have, in many ways, grown up with it: discovering it as pre-teens or teenagers, and continuing to follow it into adulthood. The first Obernewtyn fan site – obernewtyn.net – was established in 1999, and continues to be active to this day. However, despite the current popularity of texts like The Hunger Games and Divergent, the Obernewtyn Chronicles are not especially well known outside Australia. This article will explore the ways in which fans interact with and respond to the Obernewtyn books, and the ways in which this has evolved and changed. It will investigate two key questions. Why have the Obernewtyn Chronicles appealed so strongly to an Australian audience? And why have they appealed so strongly to a girl audience? I will draw on several different critical theories to unpack this appeal, including postcolonial theory, feminist theory, girlhood studies, and auto-ethnography. I will also integrate this with reader-response theory, looking closely at the responses of readers who began reading these books as children and who are continuing to engage with them decades later.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

A story of circus performers in a post-human world.