Quote I Love: Say Yes To Gay YA

Posted on by

Two published authors who co-wrote a post-apocalyptic young adult novel were offered agent representation on one condition: that they make a gay character straight or remove him completely from the story. When they shared about the experience, they said…

When you refuse to allow major characters in YA novels to be gay, you are telling gay teenagers that they are so utterly horrible that people like them can’t even be allowed to exist in fiction.

LGBTQ teenagers already get told this. They are four times more likely than straight teenagers to attempt suicide. We’re not saying that the absence of LGBTQ teens in YA sf and fantasy novels is the reason for that. But it’s part of the overall social prejudice that does cause that killing despair.

We wrote this novel so that the teenagers we know—some of whom are gay, and many of whom are not white—would be able, for once, to read a fun post-apocalyptic adventure in which they are the heroes. And we were told that such a thing could not be allowed.

After we thanked the agent for their time, declined the offer, and hung up, Sherwood broke the silence. “Do you think the agent missed that Becky and Brisa [supporting characters] are a couple, too? Do they ever actually kiss on-page? No? I’M ADDING A LESBIAN KISS NOW!”

– Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith, From Authors Say Agents Try to “Straighten” Gay Characters in YA

6 thoughts on “Quote I Love: Say Yes To Gay YA”

  1. Good for these two authors for taking a stand! I sure hope their novel, incl. the additional kiss scene!, finds the right home and becomes a bestseller. Nothing converts non-believers faster than $$$$.

  2. I wrote a LGBT novel which started out as YA, with the main character 16 years old. After some thinking I changed his age to 18 and left all the good stuff in. I still consider it YA, but it is now of legal age. It was a crazy idea with a crazy plot, but I had to write it, even though I don’t advertise it much. (I self-published it because I found that to be easier) The title is “The Wiener Diaries” basically it’s Brokeback Mountain and one of them gets pregnant. (It’s futuristic, with a lot of current stuff, and yes, male preg). Available on Amazon and Smashword.com. Just thought I’d let you know, since I don’t advertise it anywhere else. I am not ashamed of it, but I am careful.

    • Hi Uta. Good for you for writing the LGBT story you wanted to. I’m so happy we have authors like you and Brown and Smith who are willing to keep on writing LGBT YA or early adult stories. We need our LGBT youth to see characters they can identify with. Major kudos to you and best of luck with your writing!

  3. I too hope these authors find a home for their book. It would serve this “agent” right to have passed up on a best-selling book out of fear. And I would REALLY like to know why said “agent” didn’t think that it is possible to be a hero just because a character was gay or bi or trans or PURPLE for crying out loud. I know that fear is the biggest factor in a lot of people’s perception of those that are different than they are, but really, isn’t that the BEST thing about human-kind, we are all different. Good luck to both Rachel and Sherwood.

Comments are closed.