Why is YA Fiction Suddenly So Popular in the Christian Market? Two Theories
I’ve been around Christian writing circles long enough (from 2004-5-ish to present) to remember when Christian YA fiction was not a thing. I still recall speaking to a literary agent (about the time The Hunger Games were all the rage), who flat-out said
“YA is a hard sell in the CBA.”
Why, I asked. They floated multiple possible reasons. But as a parent of teens, this agent specifically noted the gritty, real-world (even dark) nature of most mainstream YA and how Christian fare was too sanitized to connect with today’s average teen reader.
But apparently things have changed.
Back in August 2012, Publishers Weekly declared that Christian YA Fiction [is] Coming Into Full-Bloom.
Christian teen fiction is coming into its own these days as sales rise for both digital and traditional books, and as publishers look for the next bestselling series. While Christian publishers haven’t found juggernauts that compare to Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, or the Twilight series, it’s not for lack of trying.
“YA fiction in general is a fast-growing genre,” says Don Pape, v-p of trade publishing for David C. Cook. “The YA reader can’t get enough story; they’re voracious readers whether in hard copy or digital download.”
Though many now see the Christian fiction market as “flat,” YA fiction still appears to maintain a decent share. The Christy Awards, the premiere Christian literary awards, provides a good sample size. The Christys added a YA category in 2007. Of this year’s nominees, at least five are marketed as YA. (Also, 2 of the 3 books in the Visionary — spec fic — category are YA, while 1 of the 3 in the YA category is spec-fic. I’ll develop the spec-fic connection in a minute.) This seems like a good sampling of the market. The Christian site Family Fiction lists almost 500 YA titles. This Goodreads page lists over 600 titles of “Clean Christian Fiction (Christian).” Also, Enclave Publishing, one of the premier Christian spec publishers, contains a significant amount of books marketed as YA in its catalog. (Anecdotally, after attending the 2017 Realm Makers Conference and seeing all the YA titles, I asked out loud, “Does anyone write adult speculative fiction anymore?” A conservative estimate would be that 1/3 of all titles represented at RM were YA.)
So how did the Christian fiction market go from YA being a “hard sell” to YA being so prolific? I have two theories.
Christian YA provides an alternative to overly-sexualized and existentially grim general market fare.
Indeed, much Christian YA sees itself as specifically aimed to counter the bleak, often overly-sexualized, stories found in much mainstream YA.
Blink, the new imprint from Christian publisher Zondervan, is clear to advertise itself as publishing “clean” YA fiction. In their About page, an entire section is devoted to defining What Does “Clean” Young Adult Mean?
Generally, the main characters in clean YA don’t swear, drink, or progress beyond kissing, and they only resort to violence when absolutely necessary. …this genre doesn’t take a gritty book and bleep out the swear words. These books are written with the intention of having clean language and content from the get-go.
One blogger described this alternative approach to young adult fiction:
…evangelical authors and publishers are offering their young Christian readers a surprisingly empowering guide to adolescence. Created as a “safe” alternative to mainstream fiction, books for Christian girls include wholesome heroines, lots of praying, and absolutely no cursing.
This reaction is understandable as much mainstream YA has indeed surrendered to nihilism, despair, and immorality. An article on dark themes in YA fiction in the Wall Street Journal (paywall) generated lively pushback. Nevertheless, the author rightly asked,
Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea?
It’s also worth noting that many Christian YA novels appeal to Christian homeschool groups… groups that are notoriously conservative. In fact, there may be a corollary between the continued popularity of homeschooling among Christians and the growth of Christian YA. It’s estimated that over 2.3 million children are being homeschooled in the U.S., most of them for religious reasons. Indeed, many Christian YA authors have found that homeschool groups are actively on the hunt for good, clean, alternative fare for their kids/students.
Of course, this intersects a topic of long-standing debate among Christian creatives — Do we write stories to engage the “secular” reader and the cultural zeitgeist, or do we provide “alternatives” for those seeking clean reads with Christian values? Wherever you land on that spectrum, the tension is still alive and well. And totally in the mix when discussing the state of Christian YA.
From the aforementioned PW article:
“Christian publishers walk a tightrope,” says Cook’s [Don] Pape. “We want to be real and deal with life issues, but also be redemptive and provide a light in the dark. We’ve had some parents return books because they’re dark, but when you look at what kids are into in the real world, you see the tension.” [Shannon] Marchese of WaterBrook Multnomah agrees: “There are [Christian market] constraints on how candid we can be with our teen readers. Parents want a good, clean read, but kids are saying that’s not what’s happening in their lives.”
“The biggest question we all face is how far we can go with YA,” says Pape. “We have to be true to our Christian values and mission, but we know what the kids are seeing in the media, in film, and in books.”
This balance between parents who “want a good, clean read” for their kids and kids who want books that address their “real world,” is indeed tenuous. And while seeking out “alternative fare” is understandable (especially books that offer hope rather than despair), reproducing another generation of readers embracing a sacred/secular divide may prove problematic.
Either way, my first theory is that Christian YA has grown as a reaction to secular YA which is overly-sexualized and existentially bleak.
Christian YA appeals to teens and middle-schoolers who are more open to fantastical, futuristic, and speculative elements than adults.
As I noted above, much of the Christian YA catalog is comprised of speculative fiction — epic fantasy, superhero, and science fiction. (For example, this list on Goodreads of Best Young Adult Fiction Christian Books contains a significant percentage of speculative stories.) In the graph above (cited HERE), the speculative genres — Paranormal, Fantasy, Dystopian, Steampunk, and Science Fiction — comprise over 50% of the YA deals of 2011-12.
This has both an upside and a downside.
Many have wondered aloud (including me!) why speculative fiction is so under-represented in Christian publishing… especially when the genre is wildly popular in mainstream culture. The fact that young Christian readers are consuming stories with speculative elements should be encouraging to long-time Christian fans of the genre.
Of note is how this trend is consistent with teens and middle-schoolers across the board. Young adult readers seem to gravitate to fantastical stories. Whether it’s the wizardry of a Harry Potter, the futuristic dystopian world of The Hunger Games, or the sparkly supernatural romance of the Twilight series, young adults pine for the other-worldly.
Much has been made about why this is. Some have speculated that our youth’s draw towards the fantastical is simply an issue of escapism. As the and its pressure grow increasingly grim, teens need an escape. Perhaps it’s a matter of the dehumanizing of technology. This generation lives in a world where science fiction is becoming reality. Speculative fiction is a way to plumb our humanity amidst an exponentially tech-centric world. This trend could also be an issue of the ripening of a postmodern, relativistic worldview, one in which the truth is squishy and the fantastical is permissible. Others suggest that this is evidence of a waning imagination in the adult populace, that teens have not yet surrendered to the stuffy materialism and grind of adulthood that has stripped their parents of their youthful wonder.
Of course, the downside of this, in Christian circles, is that adult Christian readers still do not gravitate to Christian speculative fiction in the way that middle school and young adults appear to. Whether this has to do with the gender disparity or it has more theological roots — like skepticism about speculation, criticism of fictional magic, or suspicion of story in general — it could be concerning that the popularity of Christian speculative fiction has been fueled more by young adults and teens rather than adult readers.
So my second theory is: Christian YA is tapping into the hunger among young adults for fantastical stories with magical, futuristic elements.
Whatever the reasons, Christian YA, once a “hard sell,” is now a thing. So do you think my two theories have any validity? Do you think there’s some other reasons why a genre that was once not very popular in Christian circles, is now going fairly strong?
