... Yes! That is almost exactly what I feel about YA! Which maybe leaves me with not a great deal to say, but, just, yes.

I feel like this is where all the stories went

Exactly – I mean, I love contemporary Literature-literature as well, deeply. But a lot of the people I like are often skating on the edge of writing essays or poetry or some combination of the two. Which is great, and its own thing. But it doesn’t give you a hit of story. And then there is all the stuff which is as you say schlock. (My personal bête noire: heart-wrenching family sagas with sepia photographs on the cover where everyone acts as though they’re stuck in a watercolour).

Or Romance, selden :o)

Ahahaha, oh man, you not only read my flaily meta but pointed out that my name is (pretentiously enough!) olde words. Heh! And, hm, thinking about it, I’m not sure that I ever entirely stopped reading YA stuff – I mean, nothing was ever going to stop me reading the next Diana Wynne Jones or Philip Pullman, even at my seventeen-year-old stroppiest. But I was put off a lot of good stuff that came out in the immediate wake of Harry Potter, I think. Although even back then I was very bullish about still reading children’s literature, so I’m not sure why the YA handle was such a hang-up for me!

But, yes, so much word when it comes to the way fantasy has just bled out across all of YA, to be randomly gory about things. I have an uneasy feeling that this has something to do, especially post-Twilight, with the idea that fantasy, or urban fantasy, is for girls (I mean, Steph Swainson writes fantasy and China Mieville writes SF? Really, publishing world??) and that YA is I imagine largely a girl’s market. But I can’t really bring myself to complain, because the queasiness when it comes to labelling Serious Authors as SF or fantasy is something that annoys me immensely. And as you say the fact that the shelves are just smaller probably has something to do with it!

I've been meaning to write THE NEW GREAT YA SCI FI

OH YES PLEASE. I mean, not to pressure you or anything, and I’m not sure I could choose that over Persephone, but yes, that is so very much needed and you would do it wonderfully.

Speaking of which – I make you jealous?! Oh my goodness, I found your lj and have been flipping back through your fic and it is gorgeous: I love your Jossverse pieces so much. That Angel character study! The Buffy/ Connor! The devastating Connor/Angel! I feel so odd commenting on old entries, but, yes, THOUGHTS. And also delight, because gorgeous is the right word. Also, if your housemate is my_daroga, then she does seem very awesome and I’m really flattered. Though, man, I have no idea what it is I’m doing! For reals, all this stuff is my first prose fiction since I was made to do it in school, so I’m just sort of boggling and hoping it doesn’t stop. Also: learning curve. Not that this means I would ever mind concrit, I say hastily!

ETA: aaaand, quinara's comment reminds me that I should confess to having just written Persephone/Eurydice (OF SORTS) on the Bechdel test comment fic thread that's been going around. I really hope you don't mind me linking your story - I just thought it would be very unfair of me not to nod to it given that it was buzzing around in my head at the time, although possibly not to obvious effect!