New adult fiction

New adult fiction is a relatively new literary genre created for readers between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, although some publishers extend the age range to thirty. Created as a bridge between young adult and adult fiction, new adult fiction covers themes affecting this age group, such as identity, sexuality, college, depression, first jobs, and marriage. It acknowledges how people in this age group must grapple with many new responsibilities that have not yet been thrust on their younger peers. Unlike young adult fiction, whose protagonists are rarely older than eighteen, the protagonists of new adult fiction are most often in their twenties.

While the genre grew after its inception in 2009, new adult fiction has been criticized and stigmatized by those refusing to recognize its validity. The genre was not appreciated by booksellers or librarians, with some asserting that it does not exist, is a marketing ploy, or is nothing more than young adult fiction with explicit sex scenes. Publishers initially shied away from new adult fiction, fearing that the market was too small or even nonexistent. This led early writers of new adult fiction to self-publish their novels and sell them online. Some of these novels were incredibly successful and eventually purchased by traditional publishers, where they made their way onto best-seller lists.

While the genre of new adult fiction seemed to be poised for great success in the 2010s, this did not occur. Some attribute this to the subject matter of early new adult novels, which centered on sex and sexuality. Because of this, some considered the genre to be sleazy. Sex was emphasized on the books’ covers, which showed shirtless men with six-pack abs and scantily clothed men and women embracing.

Background

While “new adults” have longed for fiction about the challenges they face for many years, the genre was not officially created until 2009 when St. Martin’s, a major publisher, held a writing contest. It asked applicants to submit “cutting-edge fiction with protagonists who are slightly older than young adults . . . fiction similar to young adult that can be published and marking as adult—a sort of older young adult or new adult.”

However, traditional publishers worried that the market for this new genre was too small to be profitable. Those interested in writing new adult fiction often abandoned the quest after being told by agents that “it is not a thing.” Some persevered but found it difficult, if not impossible, to publish their work with traditional publishers and instead turned to self-publishing, making the category popular online.

In 2011 and 2012, two New York Times best-selling new adult novels made the publishing industry reconsider the genre. (Both novels were originally self-published but later purchased by traditional publishers.) In Cora Carmack’s Losing It, protagonist Bliss is a twenty-two-year-old virgin. She wants to lose her virginity before graduating college, thinking that a quick hook-up is the best way to reach her goal. She discovers, however, that the process is more complicated than she had imagined. In Tammara Webber’s novel Easy, college-student Jacqueline follows her boyfriend Kennedy to state college instead of pursuing her dream of attending a musical college. Then a few weeks into their sophomore year, Kennedy tells her that he is tired of having to restrain himself from being with other women and wants to end their relationship. Jacqueline realizes that she has made mistakes and been unfair to herself and vows to change her life course.

Overview

The year 2013 saw the launch of the website NA Alley, which was similar to the enormously popular YA Highway, offering support to burgeoning writers. The following year, Publishers Weekly described the genre of new adult fiction as “a full-on phenomenon." However, the genre did not take off as expected and failed in comparison to the explosive growth of young-adult fiction. NA Alley went out of business in 2015, and new adult fiction never received its own section in bookstores. Some industry experts attributed the genre’s plateau to its best-selling novels’ subject matter, which was erotic romance. It is worth noting that the protagonist of E.L. James’s popular but scandalous novel Fifty Shades of Gray (2011) is a college student, so the novel therefore falls into the category of new adult fiction. Unlike young adult fiction, new adult fiction did not branch out into sub-genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, and historical romance. Instead, those in the industry began calling the entire genre “new adult romance” when it was not intended to include only novels about love affairs. Adding to the confusion was the name of the genre itself—many misinterpreted new adult fiction as new fiction books for adults.

In the 2020s, writers continued to publish and sell new adult fiction but not in the traditional publishing industry. They opted instead to market their work on online platforms such as Wattpad Star. The genre was also popular on TikTok.

Traditional publishers continued to publish new adult titles but no longer categorized them as such. For example, the plot of Casey McQuiston’s extremely popular novel Red, White, & Royal Blue (2019) centers on a romance between the president’s son, who is a senior at Georgetown, and Prince Harry of Wales. The popular novel was turned into a film by the same name in 2023. Even though the novel falls into the category of new adult, it is shelved as adult fiction. The same is true of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians (2009) in which a seventeen-year-old high school student is headed to college and obsessed with a series of fictional fantasy books. Grossman’s novel also meets the criteria to be a new adult novel but is classified as adult fantasy. Other books fell the opposite way. Sarah J. Maas's popular series, beginning with A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) was originally published as a young adult novel despite its explicit sexual content, however, it was recategorized in 2020 as a new adult novel. The novel is a loose retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale set in a fantasy world and featuring a strong female protaganist and the courts of the Fae.

Bibliography

Adler, Dahlia. “17 Great New Adult Novels That Explore Growing Up.” Buzz Feed, 20 Nov. 2021, www.buzzfeed.com/dahliaadler/novels-that-explore-coming-of-age-as-an-adultlt. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Kieffer, Kristen. “What Is New Adult Fiction?” Well-Storied, 21 July 2017, www.well-storied.com/blog/what-is-new-adult-fiction. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Nicholas, Sarah. “The History and Future of New Adult.” Book Riot, 12 Aug. 2021, bookriot.com/history-and-future-of-new-adult-books/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

“The Nuance of New Adult Fiction: Mastering Genre When You Write.” NY Book Editors, Nov. 2015, nybookeditors.com/2015/11/new-adult-fiction/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Reiniger, Molly and Kelsey McConnell. “12 New Adult Novels for Your Adult Reading List.” Early Bird Books, 16 Jan. 2020, earlybirdbooks.com/6-new-adult-novels-for-your-adult-reading-list. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Soldan, Jose Paz. “The New Adult Genre and What It Could Mean for Aspiring Writers.” Long River Review, 17 March 2020, longriverreview.com/blog/2020/the-new-adult-genre-and-what-it-could-mean-for-aspiring-writers/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Vanarendonk, Kathryn. “The Mortal Queen of Faerie Smut: Sarah J. Maas Writes Massively Popular Books That Mix Fantasy Lore with Soft-Core Romance--and a Whole Lot of Trauma.” New York, vol. 57, no. 3, Jan. 2024, pp. 64–67, EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=175126562&site=ehost-live. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.