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Encyclopedia > Gay teen fiction

Gay teen fiction is a subgenre that overlaps with LGBT literature and young adult literature. This article covers books about gay and bisexual teenage characters who are male. LGBT literature or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender literature is an all encompassing term for literature produced by people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender or which involves characters, plot lines or themes concerning this community. ... Young adult (YA) literature is literature written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents. ...

Contents

History

Early books

The genre of young adult literature is usually considered to begin with Maureen Daly's Seventeenth Summer, which was published in 1942. A Library Quarterly article by Christine Jenkins, an associate professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, states that approximately 100 gay young adult novels have been published since 1969.[1] Young adult (YA) literature is literature written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents. ... Seventeenth Summer is a novel written by Maureen Daly and published in 1942. ...


Because gay young adult novels often center upon problems that gay teen characters encounter because of their homosexuality, these books are often classified as examples of the "problem novel" genre that first appeared in 1967, examples of which were S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders and Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War.[1] The Outsiders is a novel by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1967 by Viking Press. ... Cover of The Chocolate War from the 1986 mass-market paperback edition, published by Laurel-Leaf Books. ...


Recent books

Despite the apparent wider acceptance of these novels, publishing them can be difficult. Geography Club, about a high school gay support group, was rejected 17 times before it was published. Author Brent Hartinger said, "Editors told my agent again and again that there was no market for a book like this, and all my agent's agent-friends told her she was wasting her time on a gay teen book."[2]


Audience

The audience for such books includes both teens and adults, according to Sharyn November, a senior editor at Viking Children's Books/Puffin, who observes that "young adult used to mean books aimed at readers between the ages 16 and 21," but some of these books are now "reaching the 14 plus crowd and ideally crossing over to the adult market," although gay young adult novels are also aimed at children as young as twelve years old.[1]


Frequency

From 1969 until 1998 there were 28 young adult novels with LGBT characters published. From 1998 to 2003, 42 more novels were published.[3] Of these, however, not all are strictly gay teen fiction. The initialism LGBT also GLBT is in use (since the 1990s) to refer collectively to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people. ...


Themes

USA Today reported that, "No longer do gay young adult novels simply ask, "Am I gay?" Now they explore how to navigate in the journey for love."[1]


Contemporary gay young adult novels typically involve a teenage protagonist, teen issues, and the first-person point of view. These novels have come to deal with a variety of gay-related issues and themes.


Recognition

Another indication, some say, that gay young adult novels have gained wider acceptance in recent years is the fact that, since 1999, four gay-themed books, or books with gay secondary characters, have won the Young Adult Library Services Association's Michael L. Printz Award.[3] This award, named for a Topeka, Kansas school librarian and sponsored by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association, is given in recognition of a work that demonstrates literary excellence in young adult literature. The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. ... This article is about the state capital of Kansas. ... ALA Logo The American Library Association (ALA) is a group based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. ...


The Lambda Literary Award, which is awarded in recognition of works that celebrate or explore LGBT themes, also recognizes children's/young adult literature. The Lambda Literary Foundation seeks to support the creation and dissemination of writings by, for and about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community. ...


Other examples of recognition include the American Library Association's "Best Books for Young Adults" award, whose winners have included Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez and Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan. ALA Logo The American Library Association (ALA) is a group based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. ... Rainbow Boys is the first novel in a trilogy by Alex Sanchez, focusing on the issues gay and questioning youth face as they come of age. ... This article is about the author Alex Sanchez. ... Boy Meets Boy is a novel written by David Levithan. ... David Levithan is an American author. ...


List

Francesca Lia Block (born January 3, 1962 in Los Angeles, California) is the author of many highly original young adult books, most famously the Weetzie Bat series. ... A Better Place is a 1997 American independent film, written and directed by Vincent Pereira. ... Mark A. Roeder is an American author. ... War Boy is the first novel by Kief Hillsbery, published in 2000 by Rob Weisbach Books. ... Thorn Kief Hillsbery is an American novelist. ... The Man Without a Face is a 1993 drama starring and directed by Mel Gibson. ... == Isabelle Christian Holland (born June 16, 1920 in Basel, Switzerland — died February 9, 2002) was an author of fictions. ... Boy Meets Boy is a novel written by David Levithan. ... David Levithan is an American author. ... Frank Mosca is the author of young adult novel All-American Boys. ... Rainbow Boys is the first novel in a trilogy by Alex Sanchez, focusing on the issues gay and questioning youth face as they come of age. ... This article is about the author Alex Sanchez. ... Rainbow High is the second novel in a trilogy by Alex Sanchez, focusing on the issues gay and questioning youth face as they come of age. ... This article is about the author Alex Sanchez. ... Rainbow Road may refer to one of the following: Rainbow Road, the final course of the Special Cup (and also the whole game) in every Mario Kart game to date and F-Zero X. Rainbow Road, a song written Donnie Fritts and Dan Penn, which was recorded by Steve Goodman... This article is about the author Alex Sanchez. ... So Hard to Say (2004) is a novel by Alex Sanchez, focusing on the friendship and conflict between a 13-year-old boy and girl. ... This article is about the author Alex Sanchez. ... The Lambda Literary Foundation seeks to support the creation and dissemination of writings by, for and about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community. ... Getting It (2006) is a novel by Alex Sanchez, focusing on the conflict and friendship between two teen boys, one straight and the other gay. ... This article is about the author Alex Sanchez. ... The God Box (2007), a novel by Alex Sanchez, focuses on the conflict and friendship between two Christian teenage boys, one openly gay and the other struggling to accept his sexuality. ... This article is about the author Alex Sanchez. ... Shyam Selvadurai (born 1965) is a Canadian novelist who wrote Funny Boy (1994), which won the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and Cinnamon Gardens (1998). ... The Lambda Literary Foundation seeks to support the creation and dissemination of writings by, for and about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community. ... Sandra Scoppettone is an American author whose career spans the 1960s through the 2000s. ...

See also

Nancy Gardens Annie on My Mind was one of the early young adult novels featuring love between two girls, but new books about lesbian and bisexual teenagers have since been published, including the above books by Sara Ryan, Julie Anne Peters, and Judy MacLean. ... Homosexuality in childrens literature covers childrens books that include mention of homosexuality. ...

References

  1. ^ a b c d Donahue, Deirdre. "Books give honest portrayal of growing up gay", USA Today, June 28, 2001. Retrieved on 2007-02-28. 
  2. ^ Warn, Sarah. "Interview with Brent Hartinger, Author of Geography Club", AfterEllen.com, June 2003. Retrieved on 2007-03-01. 
  3. ^ a b Wildman, Sarah. "Queer lit for the gay teen", Salon.com, 11 November, 2003. Retrieved on 2007-05-28. 

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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