Issue 135

Reading Matters was long a part of Australia’s reading culture. Established in 1991 as a biennial event by the State Library of Victoria’s Centre for Youth Literature, it grew to become the nation’s largest youth literature event with audiences that included students, professionals and the public. From 2013 to 2017 it hosted Australian and international authors, and attendance across the 3-day event climbed to more than 1,000. 

The program was discontinued in 2019 when the State Library of Victoria retired the Centre for Youth Literature.

#LoveOzYA: Championing Australian young adult fiction

Founded in 2015 after an ALIA survey revealed that most young adult (YA) books borrowed by Australian teens were by international rather than Australian authors, #LoveOzYA began as a grassroots social media campaign to raise awareness of local YA literature and promote Australian authors and voices. The movement became the Australian Young Adult Literature Alliance, and committee members over the years have included Danielle Binks, Michael Earp, Ambelin Kwaymullina and Adele Walsh.

Alongside an ongoing social presence, #LoveOzYA has:

• created the Aussie Readalikes poster, pairing popular US YA titles with Australian equivalents
• launched a monthly newsletter
• crowdfunded and built a website for readers, writers and educators that includes news, advice, resources and teaching guides.

In 2022, #LoveOzYA became a registered charity to enable further fundraising and strategic planning and to provide a structured organisational hub powered by passionate and hardworking volunteers.

#LoveOzYA and the return of Reading Matters

With the Centre for Youth Literature no longer in operation, #LoveOzYA is now stepping forward to carry Reading Matters into a new chapter. As a registered charity with a strong grassroots network, #LoveOzYA provides the organisational base and community energy to enable the conference’s revival. Both Reading Matters and the Australian Young Adult Literature Alliance share the same mission: to connect readers, authors and industry professionals while championing diverse, inclusive, teen-centred Australian voices.

Details are still in development, but planning is underway and the project now turns to the community for support. There is a call for funding, partnerships and sponsors, as well as ideas and enthusiasm from the potential audience.

Why YA conferences matter

Reading Matters was never just another conference – it was a gathering point for everyone invested in young adult literature. For librarians, teachers and booksellers, it offered professional development that felt immediate and relevant, built on direct encounters with authors and, importantly, with young readers themselves. The program placed Australian representation, diversity and local voices at its core, while teen panels gave young people the microphone, allowing them to speak about what mattered most in their reading and, in turn, allowing the adults who guide them to listen closely.

Reading for pleasure in childhood and adolescence is widely recognised as a gateway to becoming a lifelong reader, and nurturing it remains a shared goal for educators. Events such as Reading Matters bring that idea to life in practical ways. They celebrate achievement and connect young readers with the people behind the books they love. They also offer adults in the sector valuable insight into publishing trends and the craft of writing, and elucidate changing reading habits and the issues most often on teens’ minds.

The Australian Young Adult Literature Alliance aims to carry forward the values that made Reading Matters so significant: championing Australian voices, celebrating diversity and inclusion, centring the perspectives of teens, and ensuring that young adult literature continues to be recognised as an essential part of Australia’s cultural life.

How the community can be involved

Get involved by putting forward your interest in becoming a speaker, volunteer, sponsor or partner of the event, sharing the news of the event’s revival, following #LoveOzYA on social media, and signing up for updates as the project develops. To get in touch: email [email protected].

Because reading still matters – and it always will.