I suppose I should be glad that young adults are reading Christian speculative fiction. But the truth is, I’m disheartened. Why? It’s not translating into more adult Christian speculative fiction.
My friend Becky Miller sponsors The Clive Staples Award (CSA), a readers choice award recognizing the best in Christian Speculative Fiction. She recently unveiled The 2010 Clive Staples Award Winner. And I’ll be honest, I was a little disappointed. Why? According to this readers choice award, apparently the best Christian speculative fiction is for kids. Not only was the CSA top vote getter a Young Adult novel, four of the top five winners were YA!
This is representative, I think, of a very important trend. In the same way that women’s fiction comprises 80% of the Christian fiction market, YA comprises the bulk of the Christian speculative market, both in volume and reader “passion.” But what does it say about the state of Christian speculative fiction that the best, most popular stuff, is YA?
Some may find encouragement in this. Indeed, the fact that kids are reading is a good thing. After all, “teen” readers will eventually become “adult” readers. But if the CSA is any indication, this “transition” from “teen reader” to “adult reader” — at least as it relates to Christian speculative fiction — is not happening very quickly. If it’s happening at all.
So where’s the “adult” Christian spec-fic? And why is Christian spec-fic constituted so heavily by YA?
I have a theory, two really: First, YA speculative fiction is simply more compatible with the Christian market than is adult spec-fic. Contemporary “adult” spec-fic of the general market variety tends to push the envelope, subscribe to less convention than the Christian market demands. In this way, YA speculative fiction is much better suited for CBA / ECPA readers because it doesn’t need to have the “bite” that adult spec-fic does, and can more easily skirt taboos of sex, language, and questionable theology. Which is why much Christian YA spec-fic tends to involve lots of dragons, elves, and swordsmiths…
Second, parents are deeply motivated to get something “Christian” into the hands of their teenagers, alternatives to the Harry Potters and Twilights of the world. In this sense, adults may actually be behind the Christian YA movement. However, this may say as much about the type of Christian teens we want to raise, as it does about the types of fiction we want them to read.
Anyway, that’s my going theory. While I should be excited that young adults are reading, I can’t help but ask, Where’s the “adult” Christian spec-fic?
Discovering C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy and Till We Have Faces, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, George MacDonald, Charles Williams, and G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday, were some of the most exciting times of my life as a Christian reader. Discovering that those books were 50+ years old and still have no contemporary equals, was depressing. Perhaps we just can’t write like that anymore.
It’s bad enough that speculative fiction is under-represented in Christian bookstores. What’s worse is that the stuff that IS there, is mostly for kids.
Disclaimer: With the following comment I’m not attempting to address the meat of the above post. I don’t necessarily disagree with it, at all; I’ve noticed the same things.
I humbly submit that, perhaps, all that Christian YA spec fic isn’t necessarily written for a solely “kid” audience. YA is hot, even in the general market, across other genre lines. And it’s not being read only by children and teens. I’m not even sure it’s being marketed only to young adults.
Totally agree, Word Lily. YA is hot and it isn’t aimed just at kids. And my own disclaimer: I am in no way suggesting that YA is inferior to “adult” fiction. I simply happen to believe that Christian fiction — especially in the spec-fic genre — is in dire need of more “adult” stuff. So, from my perspective, the YA trend in CBA does more to reinforce a growing gap. Thanks for commenting!
Actually I think that this is true not just in Christian fiction, I think that speculative fiction in general market YA gets a much bigger audience than general market spec fic. I’m actually one who can generally reads speculative fiction more easily when it’s for the YA market than the adult spec-fic.
If you look at some of the best-selling series in recent times, minus the Millenium Trilogy, they are all Young Adult speculative fiction. Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games. So I think there’s something about speculative fiction being written for this age group that A) transcends the age barrier and B) invites readers of more “realistic” fiction.
Another thing…for example, I’m a huge fan of vampire stories. But you can’t really have a vampire story be Christian fiction without offering some sort of Christian explanation for it. So the few I’ve read have been really disappointing in that regard.
Is there room for a kind of urban fantasy in Christian fiction? Can we have something like that without resorting to demons/spiritual warfare?
Hi Amy! While the YA spec-fic trend is also true in the general market (and I think your A and B points are great), spec-fic comprises a lot bigger section of that market than it does the Christian market. I was at a Barnes and Noble in Costa Mesa yesterday that had one full aisle (two sides) of science fiction / fantasy. One full aisle! (That same store had two shelves of Christian fiction.) So while YA may comprise a large share of the general spec-fic market, there are still lots of “adult” titles to choose from. The YA trend in CBA serves more to illustrate the disparity of Christian spec-fic titles. And I think your point about vampires and Christian-fic illustrates my point: market conventions and conservative theology keeps us from being more “speculative.” Amy, thanks so much for visiting!
Hm, I’m wondering where you’re looking for Christian speculative stuff. Zondervan, Waterbrook and Thomas Nelson? Sure, you find lots of YA there. ALL written by either Bryan Davis, Wayne Thomas Batson, or Donita K. Paul.
But look at small presses. Marcher Lord Press, for example. Sure, “By Darkness Hid” is the biggie there and it’s YA, but everything else they publish is for adults.
And Splashdown Books. All adult.
It’s just that the adult books are all with small presses. You can discover that by going to Christian Book Distributors online and looking up fantasy novels.
I do agree that YA spec-fic is more compatible with a Christian market because it can get away with being cleaner and still entertain. It doesn’t come across so hokey in a kid’s book.
But I challenge you to look at the market. A lot of adults read YA fantasy. A lot. Adult fantasy tends to be high fantasy, and not all of us are into that. Or it’s hard-edged urban. Or technically paranormal romance. The “fun” fantasy, the creative fantasy, is YA. That’s what I read mostly. So it’s not so much that it’s “just for kids”–but rather that the kids books tend to cross over into adult markets, but the reverse doesn’t happen as often.
Yes, teens read adult level books. But, the teens that do don’t limit themselves to Christian books.
That said, I would love to see an increase in good adult spec-fic.
Hey Kat! Totally agree about the Christian small press publishing more adult spec. I like that about MLP and think they have some great stuff there. (I recently read the first chapter of Kerry Nietz’s A Star Curiously Singing on my Kindle and was wowed. Really good writing!) But isn’t this in reaction to the lack of “adult” spec in the big houses? Like it or not, that leaves “adult” Christian spec as niche, underground, and sub sub-genre. And, once again, I am not disputing that adults read YA, that there’s anything wrong with that; nor am I suggesting that YA is inferior to “adult” stuff. I just personally prefer to read the “high fantasy,” “hard-edged urban,” and paranormal, that you mentioned, which leaves me pretty much high and dry in relation to the Christian market. Unless I want to read about dragons, elves, and swordsmiths…
Thanks Mike. It so happens I was just involved in an interview with Jeff Gerke over at Marcher Lord Press. He is a veteran of the “big” houses of Christian publishing and saw a lot of good work he knew would never make it past editorial boards because it was too “out there.” His belief is that adult speculative will be a niche for a while to come. But it is a growing niche.
I agree, in the CBA market, YA fiction is king, and there’s little adult stuff.
Aside from the reasons you state, and some have alluded to, I write toward the YA market because if you write it without a bunch of what Jeff Gerke calls “teen aghast” in it, it makes good reading for adults as well as teens. While my teens act like teens, generally, I avoid making it feel like it was only written for teens. Consequently, I figure I have a bigger market.
I would suggest that YA isn’t for kids, though. Most teens I know, especially older ones, wouldn’t appreciate that title. 😉
I’m still struggling to think of YA to mean “teen,” as when I grew up it meant someone in their twenties. Go figure.
And one other note. When I was a teen, I read a lot of adult sci-fi, most every book in the library. I didn’t know there was any difference. Now that I’m an adult, the stuff is generally way too slow for me. I would rather read YA books, because the story tends to move along faster.
I think I must be going backwards. 😉
Oh, I meant to mention, the winner of the Clive Staples Award is the one YA book that Marsher Lord Press has published. And Jeff mentioned to me that one reason he published it is because while it has a teen protagonist, it doesn’t read so much like strictly YA. And, it doesn’t have any dragons, elves, or dwarfs, etc. either. Just people, some different, but still apparently people, all set in an alternate world. I think that’s why it has so much appeal from adult readers as well as teens.
Great post and comments, here. All of this can be wrapped up in what Jeff Gerke has always said: the CBA markets largely to church ladies, and they are more likely to buy dragon stories for their grandchildren than anything that could be called adult speculative. Why, it even sounds naughty! I’d hazard a guess that of the hundreds of Christian spec-fic titles on Jeff’s marvellous directory page, the CBA is probably in the minority.
In other words, the problem only exists if we focus solely on the CBA. Seems that way to me, anyhow. I’ve read nothing but Christian spec-fic – mostly adult – for years and years now, and not a chance of running out anytime in the foreseeable future. Add the steady stream of submitted manuscripts, and I’m set for life 🙂
I think you’re right, Grace, that the YA disparity only exists in relation to the CBA. The reason I think it’s a potential problem is because CBA / ECPA more or less define what mainstream Christian fic looks like. So while there may be a plethora of available “adult” Christian spec titles, they exist outside the mainstream market. Which leaves me wondering, if Lewis were alive today, would he be forced to go the small press route?
First, thank you for a thoughtful post. I would like to expand on the Harry Potter series. Its themes are love, loyalty to friends and family, and doing what is right and opposing evil regardless of the cost, even if it’s your own life. People, that will preach! The whole wizarding business is a device to make technology inoperable, forcing the characters to be human. At Hogwarts there’s no radio, TV, movies, or telephones, nothing to come between face-to-face human relationship, something we desperately need. Let’s read critically and with understanding.
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Having read and written all sorts of spec-fic, to me some stories are better told from a YA perspective. I can’t imagine Harry Potter or Ender’s Game told from an adult point-of-view. The stories just wouldn’t work near as well.
My latest novel, Runaway, is a futuristic retelling of the book of Philemon (shameless plug, sorry!). Though adults are often passive runaways, it was much easier to make my protagonist a teen. It felt more natural and I think the story is better because of it. To me, it was the demands of the story that dictated his age. And besides… I like YA anyway.
The unstated issue here is that publishers cater to the appetite of readers, and authors are tempted to write their stories in the way they believe publishers will most likely accept them. Unfortunately, sometimes what’s the best thing for the publisher isn’t the best thing for the story. The question then arises… what should we do?
This issue is something that I too have thought about quite a bit. There is nothing wrong with YA–it definitely has a place and I have several adult friends who prefer it to adult SFF. But, personally, I prefer adult SFF because I like longer, more complex, multi-threaded story lines and that just doesn’t happen in YA. And I don’t think I’m alone. While some adults prefer YA, I know teens who prefer adult SF for the same reasons I have mentioned above. It’s not a question of whether one is better than the other–YA and adult fiction are just two different animals.
I’m very excited to see what’s happening with MLP. They’re publishing great books and definitely filling a niche that, from where I stand, seems to have plenty of room for more. I sincerely hope that is a good portent of things to come. In my opinion, we definitely need more high-quality adult, inspirational SFF.
Great post, Mike.
“Is there room for a kind of urban fantasy in Christian fiction? Can we have something like that without resorting to demons/spiritual warfare?”
That would be awesome if we could see something like that in the future. One of my favorite series is the “Harry Dresden Series” – all the other “urban fantasy” series are copycats, in my opinion – and the mythology in there is rich, well blended. AND…even though it features magic and Harry isn’t a believer, the series consistently places God at the top of the totem pole (though it’s a very distant, “clock maker God”. Still…with it’s noir/detective tone, it’s NOT the run of the mill “dragons, elves, swords” fare. Something like in the CBA would be welcome.
One of the things that constantly frustrates me as a writer and reviewer is the fact there really are some gems out there that have been put out by CBA publishers.
T.L. Hines’ The Falling Away is set in Montana but it certainly is a different kind of adult quasi-speculative action/suspense that approaches the very issue of a spiritual warfare in such a noir/bizzare way you won’t put it down. Where else do you find a heroine who is a kind of spiritual hit-man driving a hot car and intent on either turning her targets to the good side or taking them out – permanently?
Now for my beef. Go to Amazon and tell me how many reviews you find there. This is a novel from as main-stream a CBA publisher as there can be but I’m willing to bet most within the Christian speculative haven’t even looked at it. I’ve had more than one writer of faith-based fiction he or she only reads general market novel because “there’s nothing worth reading” in the CBA genres. There’s plenty good and fresh out there. We’re just not supporting it.
I agree in this aspect, Tim – “The Falling Away” is simply one of best CBA novels I’ve ever read. And, when you read some of the reviews for Tony’s work, you constantly see reviews from folks complaining he’s not “Christian enough” or “I didn’t understand this at all”…
I also like how Tony presents himself – wish I could be more like that, honestly. He’s just a guy who writes (really, really well) and when he blogs and twitters, it’s about every day stuff. For Tony, it’s all about the writing and the craft, bottom line. And it shows.
I’m coming over here after seeing your comment on Speculative Faith, Mike. I can see there’s been quite the discussion on this theme. Yes, I enjoy “adult” spec fic (I think Karen Hancock’s Legends of the Guardian King fits that descriptor nicely, as does the incredibly strange but lyrical “Wind Follower” by McDonnel, and of course, the Firebird Trilogy). Would I like to see any publisher (big or small press) come out with a Pern-like series where characters discuss belief as well as Thread? Certainly.
However, sometimes I think we’re not looking at the “whole picture.” A lot of early speculative writers, like Asimov, were not general mainstay publishers’ first pics. As I recall from reading his prologue in one the Foundation books, Asmiov originally published in serials and later in a now defunct small press. Some well known SciFi/Fantasy imprints were not always so welcome or profitable (which is more important when it comes to publishers). Also, as has been pointed out by others, there’s a general turn in the entire market for YA spec. Also, I’m not certain this is, in fact, disheartening. As my sister keeps pointing out with the explosion of that section in local B&N, those kids are going to want to read more of that soon.
Which brings me to my conclusion: they’re out there. They’re wanting, hungering even. They’re not going to beat the bushes for it, though, unless they’re really dedicated (I humbly submit moi). So, I think Tim is closer toward finding a solution: rather than bemoan why “our” books aren’t selling like the Wheel of Time, shouldn’t we focus our energies positively, supporting the presses out there, commenting and recommending? If this genre is proven to be successful (translated: saleable), it will be published. Also, I don’t buy many books: I tend to go to the library. All libraries will take requests for purchase: request that your library purchase this book. I did so just recently, and there was no onerous process. I got to read the book, and potentially more will after this. Loan your books out to others. The solution has got to be more than publishers: the solution has to come from readers.