“A Balance Between the Real and the Fictive”: Writing Nuanced Queer Representation in Young Adult Historical Fiction

Julia Dielmann identifies potential narrative strategies for writing queer historical fiction and considers their application in her work.

Abstract

Historical Young Adult fiction is booming, but there is still a vast disparity in whose stories are being told – or rather, not told – as there remains a lack of queer representation in the genre. This article investigates why this might be the case and makes recommendations for how to write queer characters that strike the fine balance between historical facts and the sensibilities of a modern audience, based on the work of three authors writing in the genre: Mackenzi Lee; Rachael Lippincott and Benjamin Alire Saenz. I identify the ‘queer joy approach’, the ‘romanticising approach’ and ‘chiaroscuro’ as narrative strategies in their works. Finally, the article explores how I have implemented these strategies in my own creative practice.