“Exactly! And after writing two pretty heavy young adult novels, it was freeing to try something shorter, where we had more freedom to step out of our lanes and write pieces that might surprise. “It’s always nice being asked for your writing, rather than the usual trying to convince someone to take it. MICHAEL PRYOR, contributor, spec-fic guru “Danielle was halfway through her pitch when I agreed to contribute.

WILL KOSTAKIS, contributor, Good Greek Boy, selfie aficionado I guess all my passionate shouting led HarperCollins to come calling, with the offer of helming this anthology.” I was nominated to help form the inaugural #LoveOzYA committee and eventually become the Chair. “I was heavily involved in the #LoveOzYA grassroots movement, creating “ Readalikes ” lists and posters for schools. But … we knew we had to do something, take action, or Australian YA would be lost in the wilderness, and with it the stories of Australian teenagers, in Australian landscapes, told in authentic Australian vernacular.”ĭANIELLE BINKS, editor, contributor, powerhouse literary agent Which is, y’know, fine – I read lots of American YA, too, and love it. Australian titles were (and still are) being swamped in their own market by overseas titles. “When ALIA released those ranks, suddenly we had a clear picture of the reception of Australian YA stories in the local market, and it wasn’t pretty. ĮLLIE MARNEY, contributor, #LoveOzYA founder, superhero This is the oral history of Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology, as shared at this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival. Gabrielle Tozer, Will Kostakis, Danielle Binks, Jaclyn Moriarty, Amie Kaufman discussing ‘Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology’ on stage at Sydney Writers’ Festival 2017 Here, some of the authors who came together to create a wonderful anthology of Australia’s diverse and captivating YA community share the story of how it all came about – and what inspired their contributions. The hashtag quickly became a battle cry, embraced by booksellers and publishers and used to promote Australian voices.Īn anthology was the next logical, and scary, step. TWO.Īuthors, librarians and other teen literature advocates brainstormed steps they could take to help promote Australia’s rich and diverse YA tapestry, and the result was #LoveOzYA. ALIA had just released their statistics for the ten most-borrowed YA books in Australian libraries, and only TWO Australian authors made the cut. Two years ago almost to the day, a movement started over a glass of wine (or several). Here, Will Kostakis shares some insight into how this wonderful anthology came to be born. Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA anthology showcases some of the brightest stars on the Australian YA scene, and makes the perfect gift for any upper tween or teen reader, introducing them to a wide range of ideas, voices and stories. This week, TMB is excited to be highlighting a shiny new YA release.

Begin, End, Begin by Danielle Binks