To Censor or Not to Censor? That, is the question.

By Leena Normington

The last two days of my life have been spent at the London Book Fair, and woo, don't my feet know it. Physical ailments aside, what a fantastic trip! Fantastic panels, seminar powerpoints I couldn't copy down fast enough and free alcohol I couldn't bee-line fast enough towards, all in all it was energy well spent. Invested, even.

I'm sure I'll be talking more about the event later on my blog after the dust settles, but this evening I'd like to draw your attention to some really interesting discussions I got to partake in involving YA and the new emerging genre of 'New Adult'. I went to a few interesting panels that discussed the issues of gatekeeping and censorship within YA, some authors expressing the 'gap in the market' for teen '50-shades' Romance fiction (that's romance with a capital 'R'), while others simply wish to include the cuss words they hear real teenagers use on the bus every day.

As 'radical' people may perceive me as, dreads and nose ring aside, I have to confess that my stance is predominantly mellow - best summed up as 'everything in moderation'. While some people's knee jerk reaction is conservative shielding, I'd say mine is initially (and probably excessively) liberal. A 'SHOW-EM-ALL' attitude mainly comes from my own bus ride experiences and my knowledge about how popular games like Grand Theft Auto really are. However, I do agree that needless and self-gratifying sex and violence without the literary and reflective attitude the general fiction section often offers is something to be wary of.

Where do you think the line is?

Is censorship a route we should pursue no matter what 'the times', or should we champion freewill and let teenagers read whatever we deem suitable for adults? Or is there, perhaps, a meeting field in between?