This session is linked to the young adult, The Monster of Her Age, and the #LoveOzYA = ‘Love Australian Young Adult Literature’ movement. 

How did this grassroots movement encouraging Aussie teens to read Australian stories take hold in 2016, and why is it important that we have a National Youth Literature in the first place?

Topics Covered

* What is ‘young adult literature’? Brief history globally

* From Harry Potter to the Hunger Games – how YA took over Hollywood

* History of Australian young adult literature

* History of grassroots movements in an increasingly interconnected YA community – #WeNeedDiverseBooks, #OwnVoices and #LoveOzYA

* Who cares? – delving into why it’s important any country have a national arts culture, and tell their own stories.

* ‘Stories Raise Us’ – the collective upbringing of national story

* ‘Stories Change Us, and We Change Society’ – if you want to see your world change, art is the answer

* Teens to the Front’ – Aussie teens telling their own stories, and seeing themselves on the page