Welcome to this impromptu post from YA Cafe. As you probably already know, YA Cafe is a place where book lovers can gather and chat about teen literature. I’m your barista, along with Ghenet from All About Them Words.  Usually we post on Friday, when we pick from a menu of topics and share our thoughts on our respective blogs.  Sometimes, though, something will happen in the world of teen literature that makes us want to respond right away, even if it isn’t a regular YA Cafe day.  This is one of those days.

You’ve probably already heard about the article titled Darkness Too Visible which appeared in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) yesterday.  Much discussion, disagreement, even outrage has ensued, coming mostly from the teen lit community.  A lot has already been said throughout the blogsphere about the various misconceptions presented in the article, so I’m not about to rehash the subject one more time in this post.  Janet Reid (AKA Query Shark) shared her straight-to-the-point response here. Misty from Nothing Cannot Happen Today raises an important question about the age-range for YA being much wider th an any other age in children’s literature.  The hashtag #YASaves is filled with links to responses from lovers of teen lit everywhere, weighing in on why YA is important.

A lot is being said from the point of view of YA readers, but I’ve been wondering about the writer perspective.  Sure, many authors of YA books have joined the discussion, but it seems the topic is approached mostly from the point of view of the reader.  Why is it important for teens to read YA?  What is the purpose and value of YA?  Why does YA matter?

These are all imp ortant questions, but what I want to know is why do we write YA?  Why is YA so important that as writers we choose to write it above all else?  As a writer, I could pick any genre, really, but why is it that YA makes my voice resonate in a way that no othe r type of writing does?  I haven’t figured out the answers yet, but I want to find out.

Questions like this are why we’re hosting the “Why Do You Write YA” blogfest on Friday.  In light of everything that has been happening in the teen lit community, I invite you all to join and tell the world why you write YA, why it it matters so much to you.  Just as people aren’t going to stop reading  YA, writers aren’t going to stop writing it either.  I know I won’t.