Here's part three of this blog's conference posts - notes from Anthony McGowan's session on controversy in YA fiction. I wrote these up with input from Olivia Heminway, a member of my monthly writing group.  She working on a YA novel - Margaret Atwood meets Philip Pullman (can you tell we worked on pitches at the conference?). So watch out for her name.

Anthony McGowan – Controversy in YA Fiction

Anthony McGowan carried out a small survey with friends in publishing and bookselling. He asked people to rank areas from most to least controversial. Answers (with most controversial first): 1. Racism; 2. Political extremism; 3. Religion; 4. Tied between strong language (sh*t, f*ck etc.) and Sexual content (i.e. sex between teenagers).

He asked people to rank a series of words from most to least offensive. Worst were c*nt and n*gger  - but then others felt that the softer-seeming words (such as slag or poof - notice I feel comfortable writing these out in full) had the potential to be more insidious.

Publishers/booksellers consider strong content to be more controversial than strong language.

Other notes from survey – having a religious agenda makes it more difficult to publish a book. Areas considered no-go were violent pornography and suicide (considering this is the highest cause of death for male teens is suicide).

When asked if there were commercial pressures to avoid controversy, most editors said, not really. It could make things more difficult, though, which was seen as more of a problem for publishers. Booksellers love controversy, as it makes it easier to sell books.

When asked if they felt pressure to support “worthy” projects, most said no. American publishers mentioned a pressure to be inclusive. Anthony talked about a book he wrote with all white characters (drawing from his memories of school). He was asked to include a black character, which he thought was a good thing. It’s good to be inclusive.

Other comments. A senior editor at Penguin said it’s about selling a fantastic book and issues that are relevant to the readers. They won’t just publish a book for controversial content.

A bookseller friend said that controversy sells. And kids are interested, they want books that reflect reality. They want to be shocked. They see and deal with so much more than they used to before. Fiction should treat these topics.

Then he shifted to his own insights and experiences. He sees two main areas of controversy: language and content. His experience has been more around language being picked on. Henry Tumour used the f-word at a key moment. Reviewers objected, and the book was banned in places.

Hellbent had a whole chapter on the correct use of the c- word. This somehow slipped beneath the radar, and he was allowed a couple of f- words.

In The Knife That Killed Me there is no swearing. The narrator is writing it out for an institution, which made this believable. It does use the n-word when one evil character says it. He talked about Roland Barthes’ book, Camera Lucida, where he writes about the concept of “punctum” – one part of the photograph that draws you into the picture. McGowan sees that with writing, the moment when you stop reading, and you’re inside it. That’s what he was aiming to do in that moment of the book. He had to argue for its inclusion, but hasn’t had any reaction because of its context.

He talked to an editor from Puffin who said there is great fear about language and controversy in terms of reactions from newspapers. The Daily Mail would have to work hard to criticize themes in a book (ie, read the book). It’s much easier to pick out bad words.

He read from Doing It – and said he feels that Burgess has a genuine teenage voice. He said to remember that writing for teens means you are being read by 12-year-olds. Therefore, it all has to do with how sensitively you handle the controversy.

Why not be controversial? You shouldn’t do it for its own sake. Aristotle hated the idea of “spectacle” – bad art. If it’s spectacle or shock, then avoid it. You shouldn’t write about an issue rather than plot or character. Controversy can also make it more difficult to get published. Social responsibility requires you to deal with subjects extremely sensitively

Why be controversial? It can help sales. Teenagers often like to read about controversial topics, and it keeps them from resorting to adult books. They have access to many of these controversial topics anyways, outside of books. Ultimately, if the book inside you is on a controversial theme, it’s the book you have to write. Be true to yourself.

He ended with the challenge to everyone to write a first line of a book that is the most controversial but which could still be published. Thised to the reading aloud of a wide range of approaches - almost all too controversion to post here (and I'm afraid I didn't write them down).