Pukapuka Talks: Writing Young Adult Fiction

Multi-award winning author of fiction for young adults Mandy Hager in conversation with local YA writers Rachael Craw, Brin Murray and Robyn Prokop.

While young adult (YA) fiction is written for readers between the ages of 12 to 18, it reaches a much broader audience; approximately half of readers are adults. These four writers not only help their readers escape into imagined worlds, they also traverse the big issues that young people face today: mental health, suicide and self-harm, date rape, abuse of power, terrorism, political corruption, the treatment of perceived ‘others’ and environmental degradation—but with a big dose of love, compassion, humour and generosity. As well as learning how they entertain and captivate their readers, come along to this session to find out how all four writers inspire their readers to use their own voices.

Brin Murray is the author of two YA novels (Children of the Furnace and Crosstrees) and the third instalment, Heartsblood, will be released just before the Festival. Rachael Craw’s debut novel, Spark, was published by Walter Books Australia in 2014 and she has since released three more, Stray (205), Shield (2016) and The Rift (2018). Robyn Prokop writes young adult fantasy and children’s storybooks. Her writing is informed by her teaching career and postgraduate studies in literary theory, with inspiration drawn from her travels, the people she has met, and the stunning New Zealand environment. Her debut YA novel, Taelstone, was released in 2019 and the second book in the Stones of Azuri series, Heartstone, will be released this October.