Book Lengths and Target Age Groups: Writing for Young People in Regions Outside the UK and US

Kristien Potgieter explores South African books for young people, ranging from chapter books to Young Adult novels to discuss some regional differences in age groups and target book lengths.

Abstract

Most guidelines for writers for young people concerning book lengths and target age groups found online and taught in creative writing courses are, understandably, geared towards the UK and US markets. But for those authors who are based elsewhere and aim to write for their home market – as in my case, South Africa – categories such as picturebooks, Middle Grade fiction and Young Adult fiction will have different book lengths and target ages associated with them. In South Africa, for example, picturebooks are often read by children as old as eight and nine years old. This has clear implications for the author, who must try to keep the target age of the reader in mind when writing.

In this presentation, I will make use of a few recent examples of South African books for young people, ranging from chapter books to Young Adult novels, and including my own recently published Middle Grade novel, to discuss some regional differences in age groups and target book lengths. I contextualise these differences partly as a result of South Africa’s literacy levels and the country’s multilingualism.