A Selected Timeline of YA History

The Secret of the Old Clock, the first Nancy Drew novel, is published.

Maureen Daly’s Seventeenth Summer, widely considered the first YA novel, is published.

The American Library Association founds its Young Adult Library Services Division.

S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders is published.

Judy Blume’s Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret is published.

Scholastic creates a school division to oversee its book clubs and magazines.

The Choose Your Own Adventure series debuts.

Scholastic enters the book fair business after acquiring California Book Fairs.

The first “Banned Books Week” is founded by library activist Judith Krug.

The Sweet Valley High series debuts with book #1, Double Love.

Sweet Valley High becomes the first YA series to hit the New York Times Best-Seller List.

The Baby-Sitters Club #1: Kristy’s Great Idea is published.

The Saddle Club series debuts.

R. L. Stein’s Goosebumps #1: Welcome to Dead House is published.

J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is published in the UK.

Rowling’s debut, with the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, is published in the US.

New York Times debuts its children’s best-seller list.

The American Library Association awards the inaugural Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature to Walter Dean Myers’s Monster.

Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl is published.

Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight is published.

Publishers Weekly reports that more than 55 percent of YA readers are older than 18.