Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on you answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Teenage fiction
Teenagers have their own TV channels, websites and magazines. So what about books?
Last year one publisher, Martins, started publishing a series called Waves. We spoke to the director Julia Smith. She explained, “Teenage fiction has been published since the 1970s but publishers have never been particularly successful in getting teenagers to buy and read books. Now they’re realizing that teenagers aren’t just older children but they’re not adults either and often aren’t interested in adult fiction. For this series we’re looking for new writers who write especially for teenagers.”
Athene Gorr’s novel was published in the series last year and is selling well. Its title is The Purple Ring. She says, “The important thing is to persuade teenagers to pick up your book. I’m a new writer so, although I’ve got an unusual name which people might remember, nobody knows it yet! But my book has a fantastic cover which makes people want to look inside. Then they realize what a brilliant story it is!”
And what do teenagers themselves think about the series? We talked to Sophie Clarke, aged 15. She said, “I’ve read a few books in the Waves series. They say they’re for 14-19 year olds and I agree with that. We’re not interested in the same things as people in their twenties and thirties. I like them and I think they look really good too. The only thing is that because bookshops put them in the children’s section, lots of teenagers won’t find them so they may not do very well. And it’s a shame there’s no non-fiction in the series as I think lots of teenagers, especially boys, might buy that.”
What does Sophie Clarke say about the books in the Waves series?
