Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
While at the Mount Hermon Writers Conference, I heard some tidbits from editors about fiction, which I’d like to pass along to you. I hope you’ll find them helpful. It’ll be fun to watch and see if the editors predicted correctly. Here’s what I heard:
- One editor suggested Southern fiction will be the next big trend.
- Romance bumps up the appeal of every type of fiction–historical, contemporary, suspense, etc.
- Young adults are longing for dystopian fiction. The opposite of Utopia, in a dystopian society, culture has failed the people and all seems lost. This is a reflection of how young adults feel society has dealt with them, leaving them in debt and in a failed economy, with a future that looks, well, dystopic. While baby boomers want to read hopeful novels, teens want to read novels about how heroes deal with a world gone awry.
- Fiction connected to crafts continues to do well, although knitting seems to have peaked.
If you see any other trends, please share them with the rest of us. What’s the next “hot” trend?
I saw a post the other day saying ANGELS were in and Vampires were out. . . .
I wonder. . .
I would say angels are in and vampires are still in.
Hmm…I have neither a crystal ball nor an eight ball (though I frequently feel like I’m BEHIND the 8-ball, if that counts), but I do know that next year will mark 150 years since the Civil War began. In addition to the trend toward Southern novels, might there be increased interest in Civil War historicals during the sesquicentennial?
“One editor suggested Southern fiction will be the next big trend.”
I hope so! I love them!!!!
Well, maybe this southern gal needs to finish the novel she’s set in southern Texas!
Will it matter if the “southern” fiction is contemporary?
If the group I ended up sitting with at one meal at Mt. Hermon has anything to say about it, zombies are going to be all the rage in Christian fiction and non-fiction! 🙂 (Zombie Theology, Monster Devotions…etc…)
Ya think? 🙂
Because of tough times, I’m thinking–and hoping!–humor will become increasingly important in manuscripts, with more opportunities for Christians to demonstrate a unique comic POV, that of “strangers and aliens,” as depicted by the writer of Hebrews 11.
On a less funny note, I think as researchers actually focus on possible human interfacing with technology, this will find a growing market in fiction.
Might Dystopia fiction be a variation on Steampunk? Or Mad Max for the 21st century?
I heard the Southern fiction prediction at Mount Hermon, too, and agree with it.
CBA is known for following general market trends. A few days ago I was browsing through Book Page, a book review magazine that libraries and independent bookstores have available for their customers. I was amazed at the number of reviews of general market Southern fiction.
As for the angels & vampire books–yes, they’ll be around for awhile.
*grin* LOVE your second point. I’ve long said that romance makes every book better, regardless of genre. Granted, this is my own, personal opinion … but glad to hear it is catching on, ha!
If readers want southern, my Central California city is a latitude-peer with Memphis, and the whole state is a poster-child for dystopia. Quilting seems to be a favorite craft among the ladies in my church, and the guys will sometimes take a Saturday to go see the Angels play in Anaheim. I can’t get my junior highers interested in anything historical, but that’s because of all the romance in the air. Looks like I’m in the right place at the right time. All I need now is a vampire. 🙂
From what I heard at Mount Hermon the next trend will be Amish vampires from Outer space. 😉
Thanks for all your comments; I love hearing your feedback.
Lynn Dean, next year might see a number of Civil War novels, but a hallmark such as the 150th anniversary of an event will come and go quickly. Everyone who wants to take advantage of such dates should immediately check to see what anniversaries are coming up in 2012. It would take a publisher at least that long to read a project, offer a contract, and fit the novel into their publishing list.Wouldn’t hurt to look at 2013.
Judy, thanks for confirming, from a librarian’s perspective, the likely uptick in southern fiction.
Judith, yes, the dystopian novels are very like Mad Max and Steampunk. Thanks for mentioning them. When I was writing my post, I tried to recall those titles, but they eluded me.
Teri, southern fiction can be historical or contemporary.
I think that there is more of a desire for real to life fiction and some chick lit, I mostly hear moans that there is not enough good historical fiction published without alot of romance in it.
Janet, It’s always such an interesting balance between our passion as writers and what the market indicates will sell. I appreciate the way you’re always giving an ear to both sides.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot the past few days after reading an interview with Beverly Cleary. She turns 94 next week.
The interviewer asked, “Is there anything you wish you had written about, but didn’t get to?”
Her reply: “I no longer write. I wish I had written about Ramona in the fifth grade, but didn’t wish hard enough to actually do it.”
With one ear to the market, how do we, as artists, still get to the end of our days and say that we wished hard enough to write what we wanted?
How sad about what the young people are looking for in a book. That is good to know though…maybe something I can insert into my work in progress. The opposite of utopia.
Ooh, dystopian! I love those! Good news for my WIP, as well, since it’s a dystopian… although I guess I shouldn’t get impatient trying to send it before its time!
If my sons are an indicator of what young male adults are reading, then you’re spot-on in the dystopian reads. Cormic McCarthy is an excellent writer but his books are dystopian. They are read but so much of society failing them, but because they are based on what they see as reality now and what the world will look like. The books are honest assessments of what many feel right now, that humans can’t stop being inhuman to each other.
“The Help” is flying from Barnes & Noble’s shelves so it makes sense Southern books would be trending.
That’s so interesting because I was just talking to some college girls at church about a graphic novel they’re writing that would qualify as dystopic fiction! I had no idea they had keyed into a trend. Cool.
Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I write time travel romance, and I had an agent tell me about a year ago that the Civil War did not sell. One of the reasons I’m writing that era is because I have been unable to find books IN that era. Ah, lovely Catch 22 for me 🙂