Ten titles classified as YA and middle grade books have been shortlisted for the National Book Award.

This blog has discussed the movement among adults to read YA literature even when they don’t have young adults in the household. That has made the category very popular, and one of the strongest in children’s publishing.

Recently, though, a new trend has developed with middle grade works, those targeting preteens. Adults are reading middle grade books for their own pleasure, whether they have kids of that age in their household or not.

All of this means that middle grade is poised to be the next big breakout category in publishing. It already ranks strongly in terms of profitability but is behind both YA and children’s picture books in terms of annual finances. That’s about to change. If you have been working on middle grade books or have an idea for one, now’s the time to start sending it out.