Starting August 21, 2015, The New York Times will begin implementing a new best-seller list. The newly organized list will split middle-grades fiction (fiction recommended for about ages 8-14) and young adult fiction (recommended for ages 14 and up). This means that authors who were previously unable to make the list are finally breaking into the top 10, and authors like John Green, who held spots in the top 10 in 2014 for three different versions of his novel "The Fault In Our Stars," will have to share the spotlight with others.
When the news of the split broke on August 19, Twitter was abuzz. Many of the YA and MG authors that I follow were tweeting excitedly about the changes and commending each other on their accomplishments. Several of the people I follow, like Sarah Dessen and Rainbow Rowell, were giddy because their novels had made the top ten list.
Along with middle-grades and young adult, picture books and series are separately ranked. With the past format, these books were lumped into the category of "Young Adult." By using the same system that the Times uses in categorizing adult fiction best-sellers, people who normally use the list as a means of finding new authors can do this just as easily with books for their children as they would have with their own books. This simple change will make it easier for parents and children and even teenagers to discover new authors.
In addition to the new ease of access to the books, debut authors—not just authors who have written several books—will have a better chance of making the list because they won't be fighting for spots against seasoned writers with several movie-tie-in versions of their novels cluttering the top places. Pamela Paul, editor the New York Times Book Review, said that she believes the reconfiguring of the lists will also show "more diversity in the newly reconfigured lists, in the same way that bestselling titles are represented for adults."
The New York Times Best-Seller List can be found here.
