Although new adult fiction was first proposed in 2009, it is making headlines now a lot more than it did then. More publishers are recognizing that new adult fiction deserves to be on a category of its own. Since the category was introduced, many people dismissed it as a marketing ploy but it is still going strong several years later. The category has especially been popularized by indie authors to a point that big publishing houses now have to take notice. People agree that new adult fiction has caught the attention of many agents, editors, and publishers but how many people know exactly what it is?

What is it?

Books belonging to the new adult category are meant for readers who recently outgrew young adult fiction books but are not yet ready for adult books. This new category of books is aimed at people between the ages of 18 and 24. However, some people think that they should include people up to the age of 30. The reasoning behind this is that they are ‘crossover’ books that relate to young adults who are transitioning to fully grown adults. The books cover the period when the innocence of young adults is fading to a time when they are introduced to the complicated world of adult issues.

New adult books are usually more explicit when it comes to violence or sexual situations compared to young adult books. Publishers use the new adult category to target readers that are in between young adult and general adult fiction categories. Many people have criticized the new adult category of books for their ‘mature themes.’ Some people say that the category is just an excuse for authors to write more explicit books for younger audiences.

Publishers are in a race to find the next best-selling new adult fiction book. The chatter at writers’ conferences indicates that new adult fiction book projects are becoming hot commodities for publishers just because of their category. It is the season of the new adult fiction writer and it has been for a while – there is little indication that this trend will change any time soon.

How can you tell if a book belongs to the new adult category?

Characters’ central conflicts in an author’s story are the most important factors to consider. In new adult books, characters are usually at a point in their lives when they have to face adult experiences for the first time. Some of the adult experiences that are common for new adult books include: first jobs, first sexual/serious relationships, first weddings/engagements, first promotions/firing, first apartments/homes, first years out of school (high school or college), etc.

There is some confusion about new adult and young adult novels because the two categories involve many ‘firsts.’ However, young adult novels involve first times in the context of youth instead of adulthood. Young adult novels also tend to preserve the innocence of the characters but new adult novels take it away. Young adult novels also try to avoid explicit violence or sexual situations – the opposite of new adult. The limits of explicitness are however constantly shifting.