Laura Steven on her YA Book Prize shortlisted novel, Every Exquisite Thing

What inspired the story?

I’ve wanted to tackle body image and beauty standards for a long time – my career so far has been built on feminist manifestos, after all – but truthfully the topic scared me. Not just because it’s so personally affecting, but because it’s inherently thorny and impossible to represent how every young woman feels about it.

But I just couldn’t let go of The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the cost of eternal beauty, and portraits ageing on your behalf, and how all of that would play out for a teenage girl who just wants to be free of the relentless pain and pressure of maintaining her looks. The world of Dorian Drama Academy was so vivid from the get go; haunted mirrors, cursed swans, gilded theatres, dark professors and a whole system of beauty built on rot. And as for Penny… I didn’t have to look very far for inspiration. She is basically me at 18.

What do you want readers to take away from your book?

That they were so perfect before the world told them otherwise. 

Which character is your favourite, and why?

Catalina. She’s everything I could ever want in a friend or romantic partner – soft-hearted, dorky, great at baking, wholly earnest, always gentle and unexpectedly funny. She’s completely antithetical to Dorian Drama Academy, and I found that juxtaposition really interesting to poke at. What would drive someone like her willingly into a cutthroat world? And how would she manage to thrive there?

What does being on this year’s YA Book Prize shortlist mean to you?

This book is the most personal I’ve ever written, and so to have a story like this celebrated by such a prestigious award is so meaningful. It’s also so validating on a writing level – this was my ninth published novel, and I’ve worked endlessly, obsessively hard on my craft in the last decade, so it’s utterly wonderful to have that hard work recognised.

How do you think the YA genre has changed over the last 10 years?

I think it’s definitely skewing darker, older and sexier – Every Exquisite Thing certainly falls into that category –to meet the rising demand for those types of stories. And this does make sense. That’s what I would’ve wanted to read when I was 17. I just hope we don’t lose out on stories for younger teens (12-15) who’ve grown out of middle-grade but aren’t quite ready for the heavy romance and intense themes. True "teen" fiction seems like something we universally agree is necessary (authors, publishers, teachers, librarians and booksellers alike) but nobody quite knows how to make it happen. And I hope we figure it out, because I have an idea I’d love to write.

Why do you write for young adults?

I had so many enormous feelings as a teenager that I couldn’t make sense of. I so badly wanted to understand the spikiest parts of myself. I so badly wanted to understand my place in the world. I so badly wanted to be loved (or, as Penny says, "I want to be loved but I also want to be left alone." Ha!). My last five YA novels have tackled those huge conflicting feelings – anger, hunger, shame, the desire to be adored – and unpacked them in a way I think might help another young adult out there somewhere.

On a less deep level, it’s also just fun. I love the fast pace, the big emotions, the messy relationships, the bad decisions, the epic climaxes when all of the above causes a terrible implosion. YA authors are competing with TikTok, YouTube and Netflix for teen attention, and so we have make our work hyper-compelling. I’ll never get bored of that challenge.

What was your favourite book as a teenager?

I was obsessed with Goosebumps by R L Stine. My local library had the entire collection, and I must have read it over a dozen times in its entirety before the librarian sighed and allowed me to graduate to Stephen King. I’ve always been drawn to horror – something about facing absolute darkness and despair then emerging triumphant and changed (often for the better) is very soothing to me.

What do you need around you when you’re writing?

Good coffee is pretty much my only requisite! I also like to have a small selection of books that serve as inspiration for my current work in progress, and I’ll dip into a few pages before each session to get in the right mood. For Every Exquisite Thing, those were The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (of course), The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and If We Were Villains by M L Rio.

What songs would be on a playlist for your book?

"Hunger" by Florence and the Machine, "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey, "Ribs" by Lorde, and "The Louvre" by Mia Rodriguez.

Which book, film or TV show would you recommend to someone who enjoyed your book?

The film "Black Swan" explores a lot of similar themes, with a similar aesthetic and similarly grotesque body horror, so that would be a good place to start!