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The UK is much more welcoming than the US of gay and bisexual characters in teen novels, according to author Cassandra Clare.
American-born Clare, whose character Magnus Bane in the Mortal Instruments series is bixexual, said her books have never been banned or removed from libraries in the UK, as they have in the States.
“It certainly does happen in the US and when parents raise concerns about content they usually mean gay, lesbian and bisexual characters,” she told The Bookseller. “There have been times when my books have been taken out of classes or libraries and that’s always a distressing feeling.”
The inclusion of characters with sexualities other than heterosexual is important in teen literature, she added, because “you want teenagers who are gay, lesbian, bi or questioning to access books with characters like them in them”.
Clare said she receives “wonderful feedback all the time” from teenagers, despite some concerns from adults.
The young adult fiction writer is currently in the UK as part of a world tour to promote the release of the final book in the Mortal Instruments series, City of Heavenly Fire, which will be published in the UK by Walker on the 28th May.
She said the ending of the series was both "exciting and sad". She said: “I’ve been with these characters for such a long time, writing about their adventures, their joys and sorrows, and now I have to say goodbye."
However, the author is already working on another fantasy series, Magisterium, with Holly Black, which is coming out with Random House Children’s Books in September.
“Writing with Holly, we sit in the same room and pass the computer back and forth… No-one has been able to tell who wrote which part," she said. "We’ve created a third voice that’s a mixture of hers and mine."