The controversies surrounding Scholastic Book Fairs’ diverse books collection and the publisher’s Rising Voices Library, and Cassandra Clare’s record-breaking Kickstarter were among PW’s most-clicked stories about kids’ and YA books in 2023. Here is our list of the top 10 articles, in ascending order of popularity. Catch up on some of the big stories you may have missed!
10. The Shifting Middle Grade Market
We surveyed industry professionals to get their thoughts on the factors affecting middle grade sales, and what they see ahead for the category.
9. No Plans for Dahl Text Changes from U.S., European Publishers
Back in February, a report in the Daily Telegraph sparked widespread controversy, revealing that new editions of Roald Dahl’s body of work issued by U.K. publisher Puffin Books would contain language replacing some of the author’s original text, removing potentially offensive words, rewriting character descriptions, and adding new sentences. Penguin Young Readers in the U.S. said that its editions would not reflect those U.K. editorial changes.
8. Cover Reveal: Song of the Lioness Quartet 40th-Anniversary Reissue
For many young readers growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, the impact of Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet was indelible. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the books, Atheneum Books for Young Readers reissued special editions and boxed sets, and we spoke with the author.
7. A New Fantasy and a 20th Anniversary for Christopher Paolini
Two decades after Christopher Paolini self-published his debut book, Eragon, which launched the mega-selling Inheritance Cycle, 2023 was a blue-ribbon one for the author. In November, Knopf released Murtagh, a standalone novel set in the world of Alagaësia, with an announced first printing of two million copies, and an illustrated anniversary edition of Eragon.
Highlights of the season’s children’s and YA titles—including highly anticipated debuts, follow-ups to bestselling novels, and collaborations between favorite authors and illustrators—can be seen in our exclusive roundup.
5. Goodreads Awards Category Removal Sparks Outcry
Goodreads came under fire for its decision to eliminate several categories in the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards. Children’s & Middle Grade, Poetry, and Graphic Novels were removed from the awards, while a new category, Romantasy, was added.
Author and performer Echo Brown, widely praised for her genre-fluid YA novels that blend memoir and magical realism, died September 16 from end-stage renal failure due to lupus. She was 39. Brown’s editor Jessica Anderson said, “Making books with Echo has been an honor of my career and my life thus far, and I will carry her memory as a blessing.”
3. Cassandra Clare’s Kickstarter Campaign Sets Record for YA Projects
Bestselling YA fantasy author Cassandra Clare recently shattered records with her month-long Seasons of Shadowhunters Kickstarter campaign, raising more than one million dollars to realize her latest projects with total creative control.
2. Amplification or Suppression? Author Maggie Tokuda-Hall Calls Out Edits Proposed by Scholastic
Concerns about censorship at Scholastic’s Rising Voices Library, a diversity-focused provider of educational materials, arose after writer Maggie Tokuda-Hall was asked to revise an author’s note in her book about Japanese American incarceration during World War II. In response, Scholastic CEO Peter Warwick apologized for the company’s request, saying it was “wrong and not in keeping with Scholastic’s values.”
1. Scholastic Apologizes, Will End Controversial Book Fair Offering
After a public outcry from authors, librarians, educators, and freedom to read advocates, Scholastic will discontinue its optional diverse stories collection and pledges to “redouble” its efforts to “combat the laws restricting children’s access to books.”
