Monday, 2 February 2015

Hands Off Our Harry Potter - Middle Grade Is Striking Back!

Over the five plus years that I have been blogging I have read and reviewed many YA books, but about eighteen months ago I started to find that more and more of the books I was really enjoying were written for 8-13 year olds, and I was reading less and less YA. One of the main reasons for this was the amazing success of UK YA books, many of which were contemporary issues based stories. I read for escapism and as a teacher these books just didn't press that button. Hell, I'm surrounded by teen angst all day at work, I don't need to read about it when I get home of an evening! And I hate love triangles with a passion! Middle grade fiction gives me the escape that I crave. It's fun, it's exciting, and as one person put it so eloquently on Goodreads: 'middle grade is one of the last bastions of literary happy endings'. And I'm definitely a sucker for a happy ending.

 Out of this, about twelve months ago, was born the idea that has now become Middle Grade Strikes Back. YA seemed to be getting all of the attention on social and traditional media (maybe not as far as reviews were concerned, but certainly in articles and editorial). YALC had been announced. YA books seemed to be being favoured over middle grade in awards. And Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was regularly appearing on lists of all-time favourite YA books. Yes, the YA crowd were even trying to claim Harry Potter as one of theirs! 

 At the time I did not know who to approach or how to 'do it', so I thought it would be just a UK middle grade awareness campaign that I kicked off on my own blog in the hope that others might follow. However, something happened on 26th March 2014 which ended up changing all of this. At 8pm on that day we witnessed the very first #ukmgchat on Twitter, and six hugely successful #ukmgchat months later I remembered my initial idea and realised that I now had a list of UK based middle grade fans who might just be interested in taking part.

 At the time of writing this we have somewhere between 40 and 50 regular and occasional contributors who have signed up to be part of Middle Grade Strikes Back because they are passionate about middle grade fiction in the UK, and the list is already looking like a who's who of current UK writers of fiction for this age group (celebrity writers not included, although we are more than happy to welcome them into the fold should they so desire). And it's not an exclusive club either. If you love books for 8-13 year olds and you are based in the UK then please tweet or email us - the more the merrier is (one of) our (unofficial) motto(s).

 So what will you find on Middle Grade Strikes Back? That's like asking how long is a piece of string? But I reckon we will at the very least have:

  • interviews
  • lists of favourite books
  • reviews
  • competitions
  • rants
  • reports from book festivals
  • discussion
  • and much, much more.

Before I sign off on this launch post I feel there is one more thing that needs to be clarified. Yes, we are fully aware that the term 'middle grade' originated in the US, and technically it has little meaning over here. Some prefer to call it 'junior fiction'. Some might just say 'books for 8-13 year olds'. We decided to use 'middle grade'.

Welcome to Middle Grade Strikes Back - we're here to reclaim our Potter! 
by Darren Hartwell from The Book Zone (For Boys) 
Posted by at

32 comments:

  1. Elen C2 February 2015 at 09:03

    woo hoo! Couldn't agree more. *pops glitter canon*, *waves "hands off out Potter" banner*.
    Congratulations on the start of something totally needed and wonderful!

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  2. Jim2 February 2015 at 09:05

    Such a fantastic idea, and a great post to kick us off! I'm thrilled to be on board with so many people I admire - thanks for having me!

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  3. Allan Boroughs2 February 2015 at 10:22

    And it came to pass as we skimmed the surface of the death star with our battle computers turned off that we felt the force of MG Strikes Back! Don't give in to the dark side boys and girls - ancient weapons and hokey religions are no match for a good MG adventure by your side! Congrats to the awesome Darren for getting this into orbit (by the way I am your father)

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  4. Unknown2 February 2015 at 10:36

    YEEEEE HAAAAAAAA!!!! *pulls horse into a rear and gallops off into an adventure.*

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  5. Lucy Coats2 February 2015 at 10:54

    Fantastic idea, Darren! So timely too. I can't wait to read all the posts. *scatters sweeties and popping candy*

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  6. M2 February 2015 at 11:11

    Wonderful to have something like this all in one place at last. Delighted to see the wider than usual age range of 8-13 too. Perhaps this will become my go-to place for gift recommendations......

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  7. A Wilson2 February 2015 at 11:12

    Fantastic idea! About time we blew our own trumpets :D

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  8. Hapfairy2 February 2015 at 11:20

    I am so excited for this! I was talking to someone the other day about how there didn't seem to be many blogs devoted to MG books. Now we have one!

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  9. K.M.Lockwood2 February 2015 at 11:22

    'That'll do champion' * spoken with full on Yorkshire accent.
    No higher praise.

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  10. Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books2 February 2015 at 11:40

    Great opening post Darren, thanks for starting this up. Reading to escape and middle grade fiction hits that particular spot for me as well.

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  11. Unknown2 February 2015 at 11:45

    So glad to have signed up in time for the kick-off! [Thank you Miriam Craig for the thumbs up :-)]. Go, middle grade fiction! And go, Darren!

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  12. SF Said2 February 2015 at 11:56

    MG Strikes Back is the most exciting online development I've seen in years. It should be closely followed by anyone who loves children's books, or just great writing in general. Huge credit to Darren for launching it; I'm thrilled to be part of it, and can't wait to see where it goes!

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  13. Unknown2 February 2015 at 12:28

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. Piers Torday2 February 2015 at 13:05

    Points and waves wand - *Middlensis Gradarum impellare referrum!* Completely second everything above - brilliant post Darren #reclaimpotter

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  15. Julia Lee2 February 2015 at 13:29

    Hurray!! *tap-dances ecstatically* (Well, you don't know for sure that I can't.)

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  16. Susie Day2 February 2015 at 13:50

    This is the best thing that has ever happened on a Monday. FACT.

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  17. Rachel Hamilton2 February 2015 at 14:04

    Great post, great idea, great books. Yay, Middle Grade!

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  18. Anonymous2 February 2015 at 14:35

    Hurrah!! So delighted to read this - have been trying to do something similar on Girls Heart Books for nearly four years. Glad to hear Forces Are Strengthening!! :-)

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  19. Jeri Baird2 February 2015 at 16:38

    I'm a US writer of MG and avid reader of MG and YA and couldn't agree with you more! I'm also tiring of YA and love triangles. I started reading Newbery Winner and Honor books. I've found so many to fall in love with - the voice, the story, and yes, the happy ending.

    Can't wait to read your new blog. Thanks and Congratulations!

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  20. Anne Thompson2 February 2015 at 16:40

    This is a brilliant idea and will be worth its weight in gold to primary school librarians like me! Thank you, Darren, for this inspired idea and all your hard work.

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  21. Kieran2 February 2015 at 16:42

    Great start to a great idea, Darren. Well done!

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  22. kirsty at the overflowing library2 February 2015 at 18:38

    So excited to be involved in this wonderful project. Yay for middle grade fiction.

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  23. Julia2 February 2015 at 18:52

    Well done, Darren! This is brilliant. Am a Piccadilly author and would love to contribute. Julia Wills.

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  24. Tatum Flynn2 February 2015 at 19:15

    Yay, so thrilled to be part of this, MG FOREVER!! (We win cos we have dragons.)

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  25. Unknown2 February 2015 at 20:21

    This is so exciting and I can't wait to read more posts about Middle Grade books! Well done Darren! Gen H

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  26. Jesse Owen2 February 2015 at 21:29

    Huzzah! This is so exciting - can't wait for all your MG recommendations and to see how this project develops.

    P.S Totally agree that Harry Potter is MG :)

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  27. alex3 February 2015 at 11:23

    Yes! Well done Darren, you're a star.

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  28. serendipity_viv6 February 2015 at 15:29

    Well done, Darren. You have done an amazing job!

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  29. Sue Bursztynski30 March 2015 at 22:43

    I follow your other blog, Darren. Does this mean The Book Zone is over? But well done for setting up this one. If I can follow it, I will.

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  30. Unknown8 April 2015 at 21:26

    Hi Sue
    Thanks for visiting us here at MGSB. The Book Zone is definitely not over, although it may be a little quitter that usual over there whilst we get this blog up and running.
    Darren

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  31. Reed James20 December 2015 at 00:13

    That's because the Harry Potter series is YA. Only the first two books are Upper Middle Grade. It resembles YA way more than MG

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    Replies
    1. Allan Boroughs21 December 2015 at 11:36

      Damn! I dont think anybody thought to mention that to my 11 year old daughter when she read the whole series back to back. These differentiations exist largely in the heads of marketing people - what matters is what the readers think, whatever age they are.

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