Is the end nigh for end-of-the-world fiction?
Apr 19, 2011 
The other day my friend Ellen pointed me toward an article on Tor.com by Scott Westerfeld discussing the reasons he felt dystopian fiction–or “dyslit,” as he calls it–is so popular among young adults right now. (He also talks about post-apocalyptic fiction, as it often gets lumped in with dystopian.) It’s a great read, so definitely go check it out. Of course, it made me ponder why I think dystopian fiction is popular, but since I’ve already written about that, it might be time to talk about why I feel it will stay popular.
Everyone’s starting to get a bit wary of dyslit. Editors are looking for books to publish two years from now (or three or four, for trilogies), and they’re getting antsy about dystopian fiction. And agents have it even worse, because they’re acquiring clients who they’ll then work with for some undefined period of time before subbing to editors who are right now already reading for 2013. Trends don’t last forever (thank goodness!) and everyone’s trying to figure out when dystopian’s going to crash and burn, because they don’t want to be caught with a million dollar investment slated for release if the genre is dead.
As a new writer with a trilogy most easily classified as dystopian, I’ve come up against this wall a lot. It showed up while I was querying, and it’s showed up while on subs, too. With querying, although I ended up having several agents offer, many of those who requested the full but didn’t offer said that they liked the manuscript but just couldn’t take on another dystopian book in the current over-saturated market. What ended up happening is that I signed with an agent who saw my trilogy as something new and unique first–and dystopian second. He wasn’t sitting there looking for a new dystopian trilogy, but luckily for me, he liked the writing and the characters and the story.
And that brings me to my point. I actually don’t think dyslit is going anywhere. As Scott Westerfeld points out in his article, talking about dystopian and post-apocalyptic literature for young adults:
“Teenagers’ lives are constantly defined by rules, and in response they construct their identities through necessary confrontations with authority, large and small. Imagining a world in which those authorities must be destroyed by any means necessary is one way of expanding that game. Imagining a world in which those authorities are utterly gone is another.”
And I mean, come on. Teenagers aren’t going to stop caring about authority and control anytime soon. Teenage-dom might be a relatively new phenomenon in the span of human history, but it’s not going away. If anything, it’s expanding. Kids–young adults–new adults–are staying with their parents longer and longer, extending that period of “who am I and what am I doing here and how do I fit into this world” long past the time they hit 20.
What I do think will happen as a result of this flood, though, is that we’ll see an increase in quality in dyslit. It’s going to get harder to get dystopian fiction through the glut of queries and submissions clogging the genre, but that just means that the ones that do get through are going to be that much better. It’s not going to be about concept so much as content. A book like Lois Lowry’s The Giver is timeless not because the “pitch,” or novum, or central idea behind it is so revolutionary, but because the writing is beautiful, and the vision of humanity is so chilling and hopeful at the same time that it transcends genre. So I think we’ll start seeing criteria for new dystopian books that they have to be profound and affecting first–good books first–and part of the dyslit genre second.
It’s gonna be pretty awesome, I think. But maybe I’m just optimistic. What do you think?
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Another reason I think Dystopian is popular is because…well…it’s kind of happening, right? Floods, fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, civil and political unrest. Hell, dystopian fiction may well soon be considered Contemporary. Oooh. That’s a scary thought.
I think it will be interesting to see what happens after 21st December, 2012, the supposed end of the world. Will we all be feeling more optimistic about our fate come December 22nd 2012?
Interesting topic, me thinks.
Ooh, that’s a really good point. I do think that post-apocalyptic fiction lets us rehearse our fears about the end of the world–and dystopian fiction lets us rehearse the right to protest and overthrow corrupt or despotic authorities.
Particularly with post-apocalyptic fiction, it seems extra apropos right now. Particularly for this part of the world, the past few years have been frighteningly harsh.
Very interesting!
I agree with you Megan. Agents have been saying the same thing about paranormal for the past four years. They have been saying, there is too much, the genre will burn, and so on. The point is even with big time dystopia, paranormal is still kicking ass these days, and arguably the most successful of genres currently.
I agree–I think a filtering process is going to kick in, and as there’s more supply, we’ll see editors become more and more discerning. When agents and editors list what they’re looking for and are asked what they’re not looking for, they often say they don’t want to list anything they definitively don’t want, because they don’t want to risk somebody choosing not to send them the best paranormal-vampire-love-triangle-dystopian-magic-school book ever written. The cream will always rise to the top.
I also think you’re spot on when you say that teenagers have been caring about the same issues for a long time now, and there’s no reason they’ll stop now. I think dystopian will continue to adapt to the concerns of society as they evolve.
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I think everything goes through ups and downs, and there will always be a market for good books with a unique spin in any genre. I also think it’s better not to pay too much attention to trends. Be aware yes. But don’t let it dictate what you write.
I do think it will stick around. Just like vampires. But I agree with you – first will come the incredible story and then the dystopian – as it should be. Best of luck with Iron Wood!
And have fun working with Amie!
I think readers will remain interested in dystopian lit. It’s a human thing- especially if it’s well written. Hopefully the agents and publishers will understand that.
“Teenagers aren’t going to stop caring about authority and control anytime soon.” THIS IS SO TRUE! Whether it’s expressed as a reaction to a dystopian future where control is considered necessary for survival, or as a reaction to old-fashioned notions of what is appropriate (are historical YAs the new dystopian?), teenagers will never stop having that unique time period where the pull of wanting to be a grown-up with all its privileges is being juxtaposed with the loss of innocence and demands of responsiblity. Great post!
I really hope the dystopian genre will stick around! First, I simply love dystopians. And second, each dystopian is so unique from the next! A new world, a new crisis, a new set of dangers the MC must conquer.
I feel like paranormal romance can get a bit repetitive—girl falls in love with vampire/werewolf/fairy—but dystopians have a deeper well of ideas to draw from.
Fantastic post, Meg!
I think great writing will always get published, regardless of whether the style is in fashion or not. (Maybe that’s just the incurable optimist in me!)