Gayle Forman, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Christine Riccio, and Ebony LaDelle have each written bestselling novels. How did they do it? What elements did they include and why? What can we learn about craft from their stories? 

Episode 7: Writing, Revising and Reading YA with Gayle Forman

On this episode of What Is YA Anyway? I’m joined by #1 New York Times bestselling author Gayle Forman. She is the author of several YA novels including If I Stay and Just One Day, as well as middle grade and adult books. We talk about her writing process, building characters, teaching YA, creating a YA canon, and more.

Episode 8: Writing Young Adult Romance with Rachel Lynn Solomon

On this episode of What Is YA Anyway? I speak with bestselling author Rachel Lynn Solomon about her experience being an author of both adult and young adult romance books. We discuss her writing process, the importance of diversity and connecting with readers. We also talk about the differences between writing adult and young adult as well as the stigma surrounding YA and romance.
To read my analysis of Solomon’s narrative structure in We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This, click here.
Books in this episode: Today Tonight Tomorrow, We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This and See You Yesterday.

Episode 9: Going From YA Reader to YA Author with Christine Riccio

On this episode of What Is YA Anyway? I’m joined by bestselling author Christine Riccio. One of the first book influencers, Christine’s YA journey began as a BookTuber on her channel PolandBananasBooks where she has over 400,000 subscribers. Christine shares how her love of YA (and talking about it!) helped her achieve her dream of becoming an author, the magic that is reading YA, her future plans and more!
Books in this episode: Again, But Better and Better Together

Episode 10: Making Better People Through YA with Author Ebony LaDelle

On this episode of What Is YA Anyway? I talk with Ebony LaDelle about her debut novel Love Radio. As well as being a YA author, Ebony has also been working in publishing for over 10 years. We talk about the importance of diversity in YA, writing Black love stories, and how YA literature plays a huge role in moving the industry forward.

Head to Chapter Four: The Readers.