Author's Audience

Determining the audience of Diana Wynne Jones’ books was more difficult than it appeared. As I stated during our previous presentations, her books are read by both adults and children. She also specifically writes some books for children, some books for young adults, and some for adults. But even her so-called adult books are listed in the juvenile section of the library. And to add to this huge contradiction, the books themselves have complex plots and characters that just seem to be written for an older audience. Based on this mixed up information, I had to determine the intended audience of her books.

            Luckily, Jones, herself, answers this question always writing complex plots. In an interview, she stated that children don’t have a problem with complexity because they’re used to not knowing things. Adults, on the other hand, need simpler storylines.  So since all her stories are complex, we can safely assume that she’s writing for children.

            Her thoughtfulness in this complexity that she writes into her novels forms a unique relationship between her and her readers. She wants children to think about what they’re reading and analyze its meaning.  In fact, in a text analyzing Diana’s writing, Farah Mendlesohn even suggests that Diana wants her readers to become critical readers, taking reading to a new level for children. Not only that, but Diana has said herself that she wants her readers to learn something while reading her books. She even said she started writing children’s books because, “There were no books with real people in, with humor in, that told children what they need to know without preaching at them. So she set out to write these inconspicuously educational books.

            In her quest, she gained a large following of child readers, who probably never even realized that they were learning something while reading. Instead, they were just drawn in by the fantastical worlds written by Diana. Her readers continue their side of the relationship by continuing to read her books-even into adulthood. They also sometimes go even further than this and are always quick to defend her writing in any circumstance.

            For example, for some reason, Harry Potter is constantly compared to Diana’s books.  But her older readers are always quick to point out that Diana has been around much longer than J.K. Rowling.  However, Diana just accepted her readers’ support but didn’t seem to care much about the issue. She was probably just glad that someone else was managing to draw children into the wonderful world of reading.

            To back to what I said earlier, while connecting with her intended child audience, Diana’s books are also unexpectedly enjoyed by adults.  These unintended readers are brought in by the very complexity that Diana thought adults wouldn’t like. Her stories aren’t dumbed down for children, so adults can still appreciate them. Thus, Diana Wynne Jones’ audience ends up including both children and adults, intended and unintended.