Yesterday I discussed speculative trends for teen readers. (By the way, I forgot to mention some prime paranormal examples: the Dead Girl series by our own Linda Joy Singleton, the Ghost Huntress series by Marley Gibson, Dead Is the New Black by Marlene Perez, and ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley.)
So what about middle grade readers? Vampire romances and dystopian suspense haven’t trickled down to preteens, but paranormal is supposed to be on the rise with preteens. That should be good news for my Haunted series. But how new and strong is this trend, really?
Most of the current ghost series are targeted at teenagers, like the ones I mentioned above. It seems like most of the single title, middle grade ghost stories I pick up at the library are from the 80s and 90s.
Of course The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is a recent bestseller. Peg Kehret has been writing suspense novels for years, mostly contemporary realistic stories involving robbers or kidnappers. She came out with The Ghost’s Grave in 2007
But let’s look back a bit…. Richard Peck’s series that began with The Ghost Belonged to Me started in 1975, and that title was re-released in 1997. Bruce Coville released The Ghost in the Third Row in 1987, and continued the trilogy with The Ghost Wore Gray in 1988 and The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed in 1991. Haunting at Home Plate by David Patneaude came out in 2000.
(Read my Amazon list mania “More spooky ghost books” for brief descriptions and links to all these books.)
Then, of course, there’s Goosebumps. According to Wikipedia, the Goosebumps umbrella featured 62 books published between 1992 and 1997. An average of 10 books per year from one author, and that doesn’t even count his Ghosts of Fear Street (a spinoff of Fear Street targeted at younger readers), which started in 1995. Now THAT’S a trend.
So when, exactly, did paranormal go away? Based on this very unofficial survey, it seems like the 90s were a prime paranormal time, though the trend may have dipped in the early to mid-2000s.
Maybe the lesson here is that some topics are eternal (just ask Dracula, who made his appearance in 1897). Or perhaps there’s a message about the futility of trying to write to trends. Or the inaccuracy of all this trend prediction, anyway (look at yesterday’s post about the supposed decline in fantasy). Or maybe the real point is, we just shouldn’t worry about it, and focus on reading and writing what we enjoy.
Chris Eboch needs to go investigate that strange noise in the basement now. Oh wait, she doesn’t have a basement. CREEPY!
Chris Eboch
Greg R. Fishbone
Nick
lindajoysingleton
Parker Peevyhouse
Joni Sensel
Back when I was getting started in the mid-to-late 1990s, I heard a number of industry pros say fantasy was over. Kids were too edgy, sophisticated, and streetwise “these days” for fantasy.
Given writing, acquisitions, and production time, that seems to work with your theory.
Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if Harry Potter hadn’t been imported, though I’m sure that, to some degree, the cycle would’ve turned again. In any case, as someone who gets thousands of review copies, I am now seeing more classic monsters (vampires, werewolves) in mid-grade tween fiction, looking into 2011.
So sad not to see more middle grade science fiction. The fantasy does seem to keep going strong, though, and it’s interesting that the paranormal creatures are filtering down to middle grade.
I’m going to link to your fabulous blog!
Your last line is best advice we can take, I think. A MG sci-fi would be interesting. I’m wondering in what form the paranormals would filter down to them. I’m recalling the Vampire’s Assistant series right now. Are there other paranormals already lurking there? Would Rick Riordan’s demigods count as “paranormal?”
I’d call Rick Riordan’s demigods paranormal. Neil Gaiman’s work for middle grades — The Graveyard Book, Coraline — is paranormal. My own Haunted series is straightforward paranormal, with a kid who sees ghosts. Ghosts have been popular in middle grade for years, but maybe now we’re seeing other kinds of paranormal drifting down. Of course Goosebumps and The Bailey School Kids have tackled all kinds of monsters for years.
So, what about cross-genres? I’m hoping to see my humor MG take off. Of course it’s mixed with paranormal or is it fantasy? There are fairy tale take offs of witches, traditional vamps, ghosts, werewolves, and all sorts of things that go bump in the night. I guess the closest set of books I can think about that’s similar is Terry Prachett’s Wyrd Sisters trilogy. Any ideas how I should market that? Being cross-genred humor with _______ whatever the other would be.
However, I do think cross genres will emerge in both the MG and YA markets soon.
I’m having a hard time figuring my genre. For now it is Upper MG mystery with paranormal elements, after using supernatural elements. There aren’t any ghosts–just time dimensions, animals with human souls and potions that create visions. Then I wonder if it’s speculative fiction or even magic realism. And I read and reread each definition. I’m so unsure.
Karen, it sounds like it’s definitely “speculative fiction.” It may fit in another category as well, but speculative fiction covers just about everything that’s not entirely realistic. And a narrow definition isn’t always necessary. It can help when you are trying to quickly convey the idea to someone else, but if you are crossing genres or creating something new, that’s cool too!