Nancy Werlin posted this article on Facebook this morning, and I feel it is necessary to repost it.  Please take a moment to share this article and draw attention to this topic.  I find it very upsetting that gay characters would be made straight, but it especially bothers me that it's young adult because that age group looks to their protagonists in books for role models.

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/genreville/?p=1519

It's an interesting issue!  As was stated, it's not necessarily about one publishers opinion on the matter of homosexuality, but simply a bottom line issue.  They think they will sell more books if they sell books about white heterosexual protagonists. 

While I agree there needs to be more diversity in YA books, I wouldn't be the person to tell a publisher he's wrong for making that choice.  It's a money thing.  I'm sure there are publishing houses that will publish niche market books that have homosexual protagonists, but the mainstream ones are publishing for the majority which is white and heterosexual.  Nothing wrong with that in my opinion!

Edie

I'm not sure that its as big a deal as these people made it out to be.  I've seen this same article all over the web recently and its always the same book that they are talking about.  Now show me a big name author who has proven they can write and will sell who says that they won't publish the stuff cause its gay and I might believe its only about the gay character then.  Maybe this character just wasn't any good I didn't get a chance to read even a small amout of there writing so well never know if its the character or there writing.  

I've read many new ya books that have gay characters.  I think more authors are trying to write for this niche, there are very few doing so as of now but it would be a great thing to see more of the big named authors doing so too.

There are several big series that have gay charaters as main characters (ex: House of Night by P.C Cast has 2, The Immortals by Alysson Noel has a gay character, Mortal Insturments by Cassandra Claire, Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray) Then there was Will Grayson, Will Grayson.  There was Hero by Perry Moore, The new Archangel Academy is about gay characters by Michael Griffo.

These are not fantasy but have gay characters Boyfriends with Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez (wrote other books showcasing gay couples), also not fantasy but still about gay but girls Sister Mischief by Laura Goode, then Tricks by Ellen Hopkins has I think a gay character.  Since I got on Goodreads and Librarything I've noticed lots of new YA books comming out with gay characters. 

I tend to agree with Elizabeth and Edie.  I've noticed a rise in gay characters in YA in the last few years myself.  I think this was a money issue.