T148.
Crafting Voice in YA Fiction
Thursday, March 9, 2023
10:35 am to 11:50 am
What is YA literature and how is the voice different from an adult novel? Or from a children's or middle-grade novel? In this session, four diverse YA novelists will discuss how they constructed the voice of their stories. We will discuss characterization, POV, language, and other craft considerations in constructing the voice of the YA novel. We'll talk about pitfalls to avoid. We will also address how a YA audience is different from other genres.
Participants
Patricia Park is the author of the novel Re Jane and the forthcoming YA debut Imposter Syndrome & Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim. She was a Fulbright scholar, Jerome Hill fellow, and Center for Fiction fellow. She is assistant professor of creative writing at American University.
Jennifer De Leon is the author of Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From (Simon & Schuster, 2020) and White Space: Essays on Culture, Race, & Writing (UMass Press, 2021). She is a creative writing and Latinx literature professor, editor, speaker, and consultant.
Marie Myung-Ok Lee is the author of the novel The Evening Hero, Finding My Voice (YA). Fiction has appeared in Kenyon Review, FiveChapters, TriQuarterly, Witness, Joyland, Guernica. Nonfiction has appeared in The Atlantic, Paris Review, and the New York Times. She teaches fiction at Columbia.
