By Beattie Tow
Tropes such as enemies to lovers, the enduring influence of Jane Austen, and writing passion for a young audience were some of the topics explored at The Austen Formula panel on the final weekend of the Sydney Writer’s Festival.
Sydney’s Carriageworks was abuzz with of writers and book lovers coming together for Sydney’s annual celebration of literature.
One such event was The Austen Formula, with a panel consisting of Sophie Gonzales (The Law of Inertia, Only Mostly Devastated), Angourie and Kate Rice (Stuck Up and Stupid), and Gabrielle Tozer (The Intern, The Unexpected Mess of it All, Can’t Say it Went to Plan) and hosted by Nathan Luff (The Nerd Herd series, the Family Disasters trilogy).
The discussion ultimately shed light on the aspects of classic love stories that have changed, and what aspects continue to endure through the centuries.
Timeless protagonists, modern problems
Protagonists in modern YA rom coms are faced with new challenges and pathways. Sophie Gonzales is known for her queer romances, where the spectrum of sexuality is openly explored. While in Gabrielle Tozer’s The Unexpected Mess of It All her heroine’s family has been displaced due to a fire destroying their home, which for many Australian communities is a relevant experience because of extreme weather.
Tozer remarked that friendships are another large plot device to challenge the protagonist, to which Angourie and Kate Rice added that the experience of being a teenager is part of the modern rom-com world, as opposed to the Jane Austen era where teenage girls went directly from childhood to marriage.
Young girls and women having agency, teenagehood, and complex school friendships create new contexts and openings for stories. All authors agreed that while the challenges may be new and modern, a fiery heroine who uses her heart and mind to overcome barriers is timeless.
Will they/won’t they
For Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, scorching glances and a turn about the room were the foundations for romance and affection. So how do these authors write passion for the young adult genre?
Tozer recommends keeping it real, and leaning into the awkwardness and giggles of it all. Her favourite part of writing for young adult is the dialogue, the witty remarks and cheeky arguments which build the suspense between two characters. The Rices added that the enemies-to-lovers trope, used in Stuck Up and Stupid, helps to create that natural tension.
Gonzales had the unique perspective of being an Australian publisher who works closely with the American YA market, where she says the biggest “no-nos” are around drinking as opposed to intimacy. For her book Never Ever Getting Back Together, Gonzales had to rewrite her first draft for depicting an 18-year-old character partying, which didn’t fly with her American publishers, where 21 is the legal drinking age.
Hollywood comes to Sydney Writer’s Festival
The elephant in the room, of course, was that the panel happened to include one of the biggest up-and-coming stars in Hollywood, Angourie Rice. It’s no small thing to be the protagonist of the Mean Girls (2024) remake, and act alongside stars like Tom Holland and Zendaya in Spider-Man (2019) and Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in Nice Guys (2016).
I had the chance to speak with the panel facilitator, and SWF Children’s and YA Manager, Nathan Luff before the event. Luff hoped that people who may be there to see Rice walked away learning about someone new and being excited about other works.
I asked Luff how he planned to manage the dynamics given Rice’s level of fame.
As with any panel there will be a mix of personalities, Luff said it’s all about carving out space for each person.
“I’m all about fairness. I’m totally aware of people’s awarness of who she is, but also she’s writen her first YA book with her mum, she’s also a really lovely person and very approachable. But you’ve got these other two books there, which I just treat them all equally.”
You can read or listen to the full interview on TAFE Media: Luff pumping out the hits.
Featured image: Angourie and Kate Rice, Nathan Luff, Sophie Gonzales and Gabrielle Tozer on The Austen Formula panel at the 2024 Sydney Writers’ Festival. Photo: Jacquie Manning
