Scott Westerfeld recently provided links to some discussions on the coolness of YA fiction. In these and other discussions of YA books, there are often comments along the lines of “it’s not just Sweet Valley High anymore”. I agree that the post-Harry Potter boom in YA, particularly in fantasy, has been phenomenal. It’s fantastic seeing the growth in this area. But I want to acknowledge the scores of YA authors that were around when I was a child and teenager in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s. Many of the authors are Australian or New Zealanders, but I’m sure other countries must have had their equivalents?

It’s hard without my books with me (I’m even picturing book covers here but not recalling the title/author), but I here are some of the authors I remember from the YA (or “older children’s” or teenage as they were generally called) sections of libraries in the 1990s*:

In fantasy and YA, Diana Wynne Jones, Garth Nix, Isobelle Carmody, Margaret Mahy, Sally Odgers, Tamora Pierce, Madeleine L’engle, Diane Duane, Ken Catran, Victor Kelleher, David McRobbie, Caroline McDonald, and Gillian Rubenstein (now writing as Lian Hearn) all wrote books that I devoured eagerly.

In other types of novels, I remember reading authors such as John Marsden, Robin Klein, Paula Danziger, Catherine Jinks, Libby Hathorn, Gary Crew, Cynthia Voight (though I loved her fantasy books, too) and Melina Marchetta.**

I know these lists are sure to be incomplete but will avoid driving myself mad by just posting now and updating as necessary!

* of course there were plenty more in the children's and adults sections too
** scary aside for other Australian readers my age, Melina Marchetta’s Looking for
Alibrandi came out in 1992!

Tags: books, young adult