Page Turners in the Digital Age: Q&A with Bookworm Literary Festival Author Jane Godwin

While skeptics have written off the viability of novels in this social media, viral video era, Jane Godwin does not share their pessimism. The Publisher for Young Readers at Penguin Books Australia, and successful author in her own right, will instead make the case for dogeared pages and cracked paperback spines at "Disseminating the Magic: Children’s Writing in the Digital Age,” one of many anticipated talks at this year’s Bookworm International Literary Festival. Below Godwin tells us more about what the future may hold for authors, the state of the YA genre, and how one of her most popular books has helped children overcome some of their biggest fears.

RELATED: Q&A with Author and Historian Clare Wright Ahead of Her Literary Festival Talk

You will be taking part in the "Disseminating the Magic: Children’s Writing in the Digital Age" talk at the Bookworm. Why did you want to take part?
I was asked to partake in the talk with my colleague Graeme Base, who is a fellow Australian picture-book creator. I was also his publisher at Penguin Books for many years. The digital world of children’s books is interesting to me because a few years ago the predictions were that digital publishing would take over and the sales of physical books would drop, but this hasn’t happened. There are certainly some beautifully made apps and other digital material for children in the market, but it hasn’t created the revolution that was anticipated. I think there are several reasons for this, so it will be interesting to discuss the role of physical books and digital material and the value of both for children today. 

Your book 2006 book Falling From Grace was an acclaimed YA novel. Do you have concerns about the state of the YA genre as of late, what with the popularity of critically derided bestsellers like Twilight and sentimental hits like The Fault In Our Stars? Can books like Falling From Grace have much more to offer young readers? Or do you, on some level, like any book that compels youngsters to read, even if it's more than a bit low brow?
In Australia, Falling from Grace wouldn’t be classified as YA, as the readership for that book is more 13 and 14 year olds than older teens. It would be classified as teen. I am not concerned about the state of YA. I do think it’s an interesting phenomenon that many readers of YA are actually adults, not teen readers. I think it’s a good thing that there’s a broad range of material available, for all types of readers. The ones you mention above are pretty stock standard, but many YA writers are taking risks with structure and content, and they are exploring, in a range of ways, the very intense time that is adolescence. 

You can read the rest of this article at our sister site, beijingkids.

Jane Godwin will be one of four authors appearing at Disseminating the Magic: Children’s Writing in the Digital Age on March 12 at 2pm. Tickets are RMB 60. For more information, click here.

Photo: mylittlebookcase.com.au