Undiscovered Voices 2012 by Maureen Lynas

Undiscovered Voices

I've just been to the 2012 Undiscovered Voices workshop at Working Partners to meet the team and the other authors who have won this years competition and I'm now all of a twitter so...

#amsogratefulto @saragrant @sarao'connor @karenball @elizabethgalloway who did such a fantastic job organising the 2012 Undiscovered Voices competition.

Sara Grant

A few years ago BI SCBWI volunteer, Sara Grant, came up with the idea for Undiscovered Voices and pitched it to Sara O'Connor who said, 'Yes! Let's do it!' (My words not Sara's but I bet I'm close) 'If just one author achieves publication from the competition then it will be worth the time and effort!' (Their words, or nearly) And so the competition was held and an anthology of story beginnings was created which they sent to all of the agents and editors in the UK. Two competitions later and THIRTEEN authors have been published. Which is just amazing *gasps and smacks forehead*

This year the anthology was also opened to illustrators and six talented illustrators were chosen @juliaGroves @amberHsu @heatherKilgour @shanaNieberg-Suschitzky @nicolaPatten @rachelQuarry.

#amsothrilledtohavethebook

We were given our copies of the anthology as we arrived for lunch at Working Partners *is cool and collected, not!* and we read the judges comments for the first time. *musing on meanings* We were a bit like teenagers comparing texts – What do you think they meant by that? It's good, isn't it? I think so. Yes. Definitely. Hm.

Malorie Blackman

We also saw Malorie Blackman's foreword which shows such understanding and sympathy for authors who are as yet unpublished.  I shall attempt not to stutter when I say thank you. Or blush. Or gush.

I don't think Nick Sharratt has forgotten his early days either judging from his message to the illustrators. Perhaps that feeling always stays with you? *nods*

#amsohonouredtobeinthebookwithauthors @rosieBest @veronicaCossanteli @sandraGreaves @janeHardstaff @deborahHewitt @davidHofmeyr&zoeCrookes @sharonJones @rachelLatham @richardMasson @rachelWolfreys @joWyton

The winners were given a pdf of the UV2012 book to read a few weeks ago *struts at first official proof read*and then *gulps* - the stories were so good! How was I in this book? Was Prince Bob up to it? So many themes covered, so many characters jumping off the page. No one was telling, everyone was showing, everyone was so talented! *faints in disbelief*

#amsonervousaboutmeeting @agents and @editors

The invitations for the book launch haven't been sent out yet but agents and editors are responding to the 'save the date' cards in such numbers that I'm hoping there won't be enough space in the venue for author collywobbles or knocking knees. We could be so squashed there'll be no danger of swooning either. *swoons today to get it over with* then *freezes with fear* at the thought of how many pitches must be made! Jo's going to blog about pitching soon.

#amhavinglotsofquestions for @saragrant and @sarao'connor

Sara and the team took us through each stage of the publishing process so that we knew what to expect if our books were picked up. From 'Hello, Lovely Agent/Editor' to 'Your Book Launch'. They very patiently answered all of our questions (I think I asked a lot!) and reassured us that the agents/editors would be very kind to us on the launch night. *shoulders down and deep breaths*

#amsopleasedtomeetyou @UV2008 and @UV2010 winners

While Sara O'Connor and the rest of the team stuffed envelopes with books Sara Grant took us to meet some of the previous winners who had generously turned out to meet this year's batch for dinner and drinks. They shared their experiences, their high, their low, their inbetweens. They showed their books, accepted our congratulations, wished us well. They hugged, we hugged. They laughed, we laughed. We hugged, they hugged. We laughed, they laughed. Until eventually, full up on bonhomie, we parted company with promises to keep in touch.

#amfinished

And so at the end of the day, we Undiscovered Voices winners of 2012 recognised that the UV team of volunteers had worked incredibly hard to create an amazing opportunity for us and, whatever happens at the launch on the 9th February and in the future, whether we achieve publication or not - a good time was had by all. *smiley grins* Thank you.

#amdoingaPS - @saragrant has a book out! Just in case you didn't know.

Sara Grant

Maureen Lynas also blogs on her own blog which she creatively named - Maureen Lynas

Writing is hard, right? Teenage Kicks at Random House

By Teri Terry

"A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." - Thomas Mann

This is so true. Every word must be the right word, the only one that in combination with all the other right words, sentences and paragraphs creates a chain that leads all the way from page one to ‘the end’ in an inevitable, flawless jigsaw, where the ending isn’t suspected but gives that satisfied of course when it is reached. At least…. that is the plan.

And some days, it flows, and all is right in my world. Others, not so much. And those are the days I’ve been having lately.

Last Tuesday I was lucky enough to attend the Reading Agency’s Teenage Kicks at Random House in London. Led by Bucks this year through High Wycombe Headspace and Children’s Reading Partners, authors Malorie Blackman, Bali Rai and Jenny Downham were there to inspire and answer questions. They were wonderful, warm and approachable, and generous with their responses.

Bali, Malorie & Jenny

One question they were asked is: what is the hardest thing about writing? And since I’ve been finding it hard going myself lately, my ears instantly perked up.

Answering the tough questions

For Malorie Blackman, the hardest thing is reworking. The most fun is the first draft, just getting the story out. But after that? She admits to a perfectionist streak. She prints it out, goes through it again and again, makes changes and prints it again. This happens six or seven times before she lets her editor see it. She finds the dedication to get through this is hard, as by then she just wants to get on to the next thing.

Jenny Downham never plans. She writes much like a stream of consciousness for weeks and weeks. Months can go by before she knows where she is going: so for her, the hardest thing is going down the wrong path.

Bali Rai said his hardest thing is much like Malorie’s. He also has trouble keeping other ideas out of his head. Always while writing, he is thinking of other things, and getting excited about stuff he hasn’t written more so than what he is working on. Keeping those things separate is difficult. Though he also said he doesn’t find any of it particularly hard hard, because writing was his hobby before he started getting paid for it. He feels privileged to do it, and enjoys it most of the time: apart from being plagued by too many ideas. Can you have too many ideas?

Through the evening you could see they all had the joy: that feeling you can only get from creating characters and the world they inhabit from nothing but imagination and desire. And they reminded me why I put myself through it.

Sharing the joy!

Writing isn’t easy. But it is so worth it.

And what did I think of the Reading Agency’s Teenage Kicks at Random House?

As thirteen year old Katherine summed up when asked what she thought of the evening: it was awesome.

Katherine meets her hero

Open Book and Mariella Frostrup Interview YA authors

by Teri Terry

Is a bit of your brain still a teenager? If so, YA may be just the thing…

I’d like to think that one day, Mariella Frostrup might interview me on my latest best seller.
There is one flaw with this, though: she is just way too scary. That could turn from dream to nightmare in seconds.
She’d probably have me quivering in the corner with insightful questions, spot every flaw in my writing from beginning to end, and make me realize that I’m just playing at this writing malarkey and should go home and knit.
And she would do it nicely, too.

Mariella Frostrup: Book Goddess

On 21 November, Mariella presented a special edition of Open Book on BBC radio 4, exploring the recent boom in fiction for young adults. She spoke to authors Marcus Sedgwick, Malorie Blackman and Gemma Malley.
How could I resist, with the divine Mr M involved?

The Divine Mr M (Marcus Sedgwick)

And she didn’t shy away from the big questions. Is the YA boom a construction of the publishing industry, or does it fill a needed gap? In years past, children went straight from reading children’s to adult books: did stretching in our formative years do previous generations any harm?

Mariella began by putting them in the spotlight: what did they read as teens?

Mariella started them off: she went to Georgette Heyer and DH Lawrence. Marlorie Blackman impressed with Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Rebecca. Oh, and Jacqueline Susann. Marcus Sedgewick admitted he read good, and bad: lots of science fiction and fantasy – just like me! – though no names admitted to, except that Merlin Peak was a big thing that grabbed him at age 14 or 15. Gemma Malley read Judy Blume, Virginia Andrews and… Dostoevsky. Really?!

Is one of the hallmarks of teen fiction that the central protagonist is almost always a teenager themselves?

Marcus noted this isn’t essential, though Malorie said it is easier for readers to empathize and identify with protagonists of similar age. She writes for the teenager inside herself: books she would have loved to read at that age. Gemma, on the other hand, didn’t set out to write a YA book; her protagonist was a teenager as this was needed for her story.

An extract from Boys Don’t Cry, Marlorie’s latest, was read. This novel tackles issues of teenage pregnancy, homosexuality and attempted suicide. How is responsibility to young readers balanced with responsibility as a story teller?

Malorie noted endings in her books may not be happy, but they are hopeful; and teens don’t always believe there is a happy ending. In writing this particular book she set out to give teenage dads a say.

Malorie Blackman

Is it a hallmark of YA that endings aren’t neat and happily ever after, but are often bleak or enigmatic?

Gemma noted that teens are in transition from the black and white world of the child, to an adult shades-of-grey world; they are starting to realize their parents aren’t necessarily always right, and that they have to think things through for themselves.

Marcus says he tries to do two things: to not be boring, and – like Gemma – to suggest that life is not black and white.

Mariella noted that girls read more than boys: does Malorie’s Noughts and Crosses appeal to black boys?

Malorie hopes so. She said when she was growing up, books did not feature black characters, and that fiction engenders empathy, and gives an emotional vocabulary.

And now for the big issue: YA is the space between children’s and adult books. Was it created by a marketing push? Does YA really exist?

Marcus mentioned Catcher in the Rye, and that SF and Fantasy were there for YA readers: YA has always existed, but it is now a recognized genre that is published into by publishers. Gemma agreed there have always been books that tap into teens.

BUT are we holding kids back by the idea of teen books instead of going straight to adult books?

Malorie noted that some teens get disaffected by reading adult books, and Marcus that the idea that teens should always be stretched to the limit of their reading ability is false. We don’t do that as adults: we might want to read a trashy novel on holiday. He said ‘why not just feel free to read what you want to read at any time.’ Brilliant advice.

Mariella notes that Marcus’s White Crow doesn’t shy away from posing difficult questions about life after death: would have been different if written for adults?

Marcus said probably not, though noted publishing decisions affect editing, and there is a responsibility to have some notion of hope and optimism. But more to have an engaging story.

Can you tackle more when writing for children than adults?

Gemma said yes: teens can accept all sorts of things, and don’t have the same parameters. Marcus said it is exciting writing for children as you can write about anything; with adults, you are constrained by genre, trends, and what is and isn’t acceptable.

Mariella discussed Gemma’s dystopian world in The Declaration, in which she critiques the very premise of children.

Gemma was interested in developments in science: do we want to live forever? If so, we can’t have children. Using a future setting gives more freedom in the plot as can expand reality, and, no research is necessary.

Mariella quoted Nicholas Tuckers’ Rough Guide to Books for Teenagers, where he criticizes upping the tragedy in books for teens.

Malorie noted her books have both humour and angst. Marcus said Tucker missed the point. There are two types of books: good, and bad. And those about issues with a capital ‘I’ can do it badly, or well; you shouldn’t sweep away the whole genre or approach.

Why write YA?

Marcus said honest children’s writers all admit, there is a bit of their brain that is still a teenager.

Finally: what are the themes of the future in YA? Are there different genres within?

Marcus says publishers hate the label SF; Malorie notes that if you want to write innovative fiction, YA is the place to be; and Gemma that YA doesn’t seem to be subdivided too much – there is a huge amount of freedom.

My Conclusions?

Since I am mentally 14, still trying to work out shades of grey, don’t like doing research and am writing an innovative dystopia set in the future without calling it SF… I guess I’m in the right place.