What is New Adult

The Discussion Is Heating Up

It’s all the talk . . . what is this new category called New Adult and where can I find it in bookstores? 

It may not have it’s own shelf in bookstores–yet–but New Adult books are spreading like wildfire. Many publishers are finding the need to expand to include this hot new topic, which may have been around longer than most people realize. The phrase, New Adult, was coined by St. Martin’s Press but many believe it is an extenuation of a YA crossover with slightly older characters, that 20-something crowd. Random House is launching a new imprint, FLIRT, just to accommodate this booming market.

New Adult explores that tender age where teens leave behind the angst of high school and step firmly, or wobbly depending, across the threshold into adulthood. So what’s it mean? Proms and pimples are chucked aside and more challenging dilemmas spring to life: how to survive in college, where to live, what career to choose, who am I-really, and who do I want to be? Who do I date, should I date, how do I decorate my first apartment? How do I survive out here? How, exactly, does my generation define adulthood anyway? And what does it all mean to me?

Many New Adult titles like Losing It by Cora Carmack have found a home under the romance sub-genre but a wide range of titles will expand to include paranormal, historical, mystery, thriller etc. They are all coming and in a big way. Agents and editors are on the lookout!

If you are addicted to New Adult or just want to learn more, join the discussion at confessionsofawanderingheart.blogspot.com/ with Suzie Townsend, agent at New Leaf Literary.