The ‘New Adult’ Category
New Adult is the estranged family member of the book world. Initially, creating such a buzz that authors such as Chelsea M. Cameron and others were able to break into the publishing world with huge demand. It later was put down as “YA but more erotic” and rejected as an official category. This hasn’t stopped authors from labeling their books as New Adult, nor for readers from seeking it out, but it does mean that there isn’t a Publishing Industry acceptance of the category.
So where did it start?
In 2009, St Martin’s Press and Georgia McBride posted a writing contest with the ask for: “new, cutting edge YA with protagonists who are slightly older and can appeal to an adult audience. Since twenty-somethings are happily reading YA, St. Martin’s Press is seeking YA that can be published and marketed as adult; kind of an 'older YA' or 'new adult.’” (Sambuchino, 2009).
The definition became more fleshed out as more publishers and authors jumped on the idea. Goodreads classifies it as a genre that “New Adult fiction bridges the gap between Young Adult and Adult genres. It typically features protagonists between the ages of 18 and 25 with the cap at 30ish. The genre tends to focus on issues prevalent in the young adult genre as well as focusing on issues experienced by individuals between the area of childhood and adulthood, such as leaving home for university and getting a job.” (Goodreads, 2026).
In 2012, one of Goodreads’ users by the name of Laura posted that it was “more mature” and while could be any genre, many of the books labeled as such are “contemporary romances”.
This connection between romance and new adult has unfortunately led to the lack of support for it as a category. Cameron says to the detriment of the YA genre where teens are pushed out of their genre and not marketed to, with more expensive editions that are unaffordable or topics that deal with less of their day-to-day or limited access because of censorship (2023). If New Adult was accepted as a category, there could be a clear delineation that also supports the different stages of life that show up developmentally.
Marketing toward the correct audience is important for authors and publishers alike, which makes it strange that the category hasn’t had a resurgence. Especially when popular books like Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses series both experienced cover updates and were moved from YA to Adult Fantasy. It seems evident that the new adult category is an important division to establish, not only for age appropriate marketing but to acknowledge the growth and challenges that occur between the years of 18 and 30.
Brain development continues on average until age 25. This means that these new adults are still “structurally and functionally vulnerable to impulsive sex, food, and sleep habits,” (Arain et al., 2013). Not only that, but new adults are going through the sociological thresholds of adulthood: independence, romantic relationships, participation in politics, drinking age of 21 in the U.S.A., college or full-time work. This time of their lives is full of more risk-taking and exploration, likely due to the slow development of the frontal lobe which impacts decision-making.
Because of this, it makes more sense to have a category such as New Adult. The audience for it may find YA books less mature or irrelevant to their current life, while feeling disconnected from the choices of characters in Adult fiction who have a maturity that feels beyond them. It brings to mind the term “Adulting” which is often used tongue-and-cheek when those of this age bracket describe their survival of adulthood. Finding the balance of experience with naivete is part of what makes New Adult fun, while the realizations of adulthood can create existential quandaries of making their mark in the world.
References
Arain, M., Haque, M., Johal, L., Mathur, P., Nel, W., Rais, A., Sandhu, R., & Sharma, S. (2013). Maturation of the adolescent brain. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 9, 449–461. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S39776
Cameron, Chelsea M. (2023, August 17). New Adult: The Category In Between That Everyone Forgot. Publisher’s Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/92990-new-adult-the-category-in-between-that-everyone-forgot.html
Kennedy, Adrienne (2024). New Adult Fiction. EBSCO. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/new-adult-fiction
New Adult Book Club. (2012, December 30). Discussion: What Are New Adult Books? Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1148919-what-are-new-adult-books
New Adult. (n.d.) Goodreads. Retrieved June 1, 2026 from https://www.goodreads.com/genres/new-adult
Sambuchino, Chuck (2009, November 12). New Genre: ‘New Adult’… And A Contest! Writer’s Digest. https://www.writersdigest.com/publishing-insights/new-genre-new-adult-and-a-contest