Australian YA Fiction and Social Media: Mediations in Contemporary Book Cultures for Young Adults

Abstract This article explores the role of social media in supporting Australian young adult (YA) fiction in contemporary book cultures. Previous research has mapped contemporary book cultures in digital media and demonstrated the value of spaces such as Bookstagram to industry, authors, and readers (Martens et al. 2022; Reddan et al. 2024). While contemporary YA fiction is a thriving industry in Australia, supported by social media and industry networks in digital spaces, there is concern about declining readership among young adults both nationally (Rutherford et al. 2024) and internationally (Cremin and Scholes 2024). With the recent social media ban in Australia (December 2025) (eSafety Commission 2025), it is important to highlight the role of social media in the YA industry and to potential young adult readers who use social media to identify reading material, keep up with authors and connect to other readers (Rutherford et al. 2024; Schoonens and Dezuanni 2026). As such, this article takes an exploratory approach to examining social media platforms and content that connects the book industry and readers to Australian YA content.