Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity

Okay. I know I've been bad in terms of keeping up with Top Ten Tuesday this year.

But how could I not toss together a post for this topic?

I know, for many, diversity seems like a fraught subject, riddled with potholes in the form of titles that you thought were good and turned out to be problematic or stereotypical and made you feel as though you offered other people a bowl of sweet-looking grapes that had moldy undersides.

I know. It happens to everyone. I checked and double-checked all the titles that popped into my mind, trying to figure out if I'd seen anything contradicting their status as a positive, encouraging YA title. If this is happening to you, too, please remember two things:

A. It's good to be able to discuss these titles, because - as a marginalized voice myself - I like being able to let people know what bothered me, so they can know to look out for and challenge those topics themselves,

and

B. It's okay to like and consume problematic media. The problems happen when you make it your business to deny their being problematic, or police other people's reactions or pain from their being problematic.

(Also, when you push forward that problematic media as representation or an educational resource, especially as someone outside of the marginalized group being problematically represented.)

Kudos to you for broadening your reading horizons and doing your best to be conscious and sincere and engaging. Here's a fist bump for you. And a piece of chocolate. And so ends my likely unwanted PSA.

Anyway. Today, I'm doing something different. Even though I signed up for a diverse reading challenge this year, I haven't been doing my best of logging my progress or even recapping what titles I planned to cover this year.

Since we're already headway into summer, I thought you might like to see five diverse titles I already enjoyed earlier this year (or am currently reading), plus five titles I haven't read yet and should for the sake of keeping up with said challenge. Sounds good? I thought so.

Of note, I did my best to focus on authors with marginalized identities and backgrounds, as well as 

(Click links to visit GoodReads and read the relevant summaries.)


What I've Read

1. This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (arc preview here)

10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Casual diversity central. It's also heart-wrenching, requires a full box of Kleenex to get through and made me scream incoherently into my pillow several times, but that's neither here or there.



2. Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama.

Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette's desire to escape the shadow of her ballet star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever.

When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.

Juicy, juicy scandals, gossip and cutthroat dancers - with an added helping of diversity! What more could you ask for? (And, like I've said before, I'm not usually the girl who likes juice outside of a cup - preferably orange, or else, strawberry kiwi.)



3. Dirty Wings by Sarah McCarry (currently reading!)

A gorgeous retelling of the Persephone myth, Sarah McCarry brings us the story of Cass and Maia--the mothers from All Our Pretty Songs--and how their fates became intertwined.

Maia is a teenage piano prodigy and dutiful daughter, imprisoned in the oppressive silence of her adoptive parents' house like a princess in an ivory tower. Cass is a street rat, witch, and runaway, scraping by with her wits and her knack for a five-fingered discount. When a chance encounter brings the two girls together, an unlikely friendship blossoms that will soon change the course of both their lives. Cass springs Maia from the jail of the only world she's ever known, and Maia's only too happy to make a break for it. But Cass didn't reckon on Jason, the hypnotic blue-eyed rocker who'd capture Maia's heart as soon as Cass set her free--and Cass isn't the only one who's noticed Maia's extraordinary gifts. Is Cass strong enough to battle the ancient evil she's unwittingly awakened--or has she walked into a trap that will destroy everything she cares about? In this time, like in any time, love is a dangerous game.

Please see my post on jewel-toned books as a genre on why I think Sarah McCarry is the best thing since apple pie. Read everything by her. Everything is a gift to diverse YA as we know it. Please and thank you.

(I'm also reading About A Girl. All the Sarah books!)

4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (currently reading!)

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

This book has everything: an utterly delightful and believable narrator (who is biracial!), delicate, heartfelt prose and a wonderful author who it is an absolute pleasure to cheer for. Also, this is another of those ARCs that Mom totally stole off me and devoured and then refused to give back. If that means anything.


5. The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey (currently reading!)

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.

But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

This totally gives me Daughter of Smoke and Bones feels, but without a lot of the problematic aspects that (though you know I adore Laini Taylor) I couldn't reconcile myself with. Also, as I mentioned before earlier this year, Melissa is a real-life heroine and maybe that will rub off on me if I keep reading her awesome words.


Coming Up Soon

1. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

Yes, I haven't read this yet. Still. Yes, I know I am an awful friend. Yes, I know that this is a gorgeous, sumptuous debut (so many people who are beautiful, timely souls and have already read it gladly offer up their testimonials, in order to rub my sins further in my face). Yes, I have no excuses.

Arthur's done with me now.

2. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It's their getaway, their refuge. Rosie's friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose's mom and dad won't stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. It's a summer of secrets and sorrow and growing up, and it's a good thing Rose and Windy have each other.

In This One Summer two stellar creators redefine the teen graphic novel. Cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, the team behind Skim, have collaborated on this gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about a girl on the cusp of her teen age—a story of renewal and revelation.

This summer seems to be the summer of epic graphic novels for me. They are gorgeous, colorful and often quick but fulfilling reads and I'm not sure why I lapsed out of them. I've heard a lot of great things about this title in particular. And it even has summer in the title!

Me when I realized our library does, in face, have a copy of this. You don't know how much of a miracle this is.

3. Pointe by Brandy Colbert

Theo is better now.

She's eating again, dating guys who are almost appropriate, and well on her way to becoming an elite ballet dancer. But when her oldest friend, Donovan, returns home after spending four long years with his kidnapper, Theo starts reliving memories about his abduction—and his abductor.

Donovan isn't talking about what happened, and even though Theo knows she didn't do anything wrong, telling the truth would put everything she's been living for at risk. But keeping quiet might be worse.

I am so, so behind on reading this. I know it. You can fuss at me about it if you've already read it, if you want to. I won't mind.

 

4. The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell

Japanese teenager, Sora, is diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Lonely and isolated, Sora turns to the ancient wisdom of the samurai for guidance and comfort. But he also finds hope in the present; through the internet he finds friends that see him, not just his illness. This is a story of friendship and acceptance, and testing strength in an uncertain future.

Do you know how much it pleases me to be able to mention both Marieke and Sarah in a list?

My precioussssessss.

In a totally platonic, devoted, non-creepy Gollum way, of course.

(I love you guys. Don't run away.)

Anyway, I do have this sitting right here and even my picky sister said the cover is a dream and she wants to read it when I'm done. So there you have it.

This is what I should have told my sister and taken advantage of the situation. She doesn't respect my YA taste enough.

5. A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman

Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. 

Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her. 

This looks absolutely lovely and elegant. And yes, I'm totally judging by the cover, but it's a novel in verse about a dancer! I honestly don't know why I've put this one off so much, particularly since I know so many who love this, particularly among my Desi writer friends.

Diversify! - [Let's Level] The Real Issues of Muslim Representation, Part I

This afternoon, the wonderful Angie Manfredi (librarian extraordinaire and diversity advocate) linked me and author Aisha Saeed to the 2015 official poster for Banned Books Week. This poster is currently available in the ALA Store and can be viewed there, but for my readers, I’m also adding it below.

Angie wanted our reactions as Muslim women, and mine was almost instantaneous. I spent another five minutes trying to give ALA, and the designers, the benefit of the doubt. But it soon became clear that I just couldn’t. It was just too blatant, and many other friends, both Muslim and non-Muslim, reacted with the same discomfort and anger.

If you look at the image, you can see that the design forms a veil over the model’s face. That, coupled with the fact that the model is otherwise dressed rather “skimpily”, in Angie’s words, quickly draws the mind to the usual stereotypes about the oppressed, repressed Muslim woman, smothered by her veil and her “backwards” faith.*

(I’ve heard this directed at me so many times, but typing it out always gives me another little twinge of irritation.) 

Added on top of this already problematic suggestion is the accompanying text: a big, red “Readstricted,” and the fine print that reads, “Warning: Banning Books Restricts Our Freedom to Read.”

I’m not going to lie: in 2015, coming up on the anniversary of the initial #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign, from an organization that has a young hijaabi librarian that I personally know as one of its 2015 Emerging Leaders…

I am not amused. I am not amused at all.

Since I know I can get incoherent when on a tear, I’m parsing this down to two main points. 

(Honestly, I’m a big fan of three, since three is a magic number and all, but…let’s stick to the basics of this situation and why it’s concerning.)

Dive Into Diversity!

So, it's definitely been a while since I participated in a reading challenge. Maybe that's because 2014 has been sincerely, positively ghastly on my reading front (and you'll see that for yourself with my End of the Year Survey).

It's been proving to be very pleasant thinking ahead to 2015 - which is literally on the doorstep - and figuring out which titles I should incorporate into my usual diet, or entice my still recovering reading appetite with.

As you probably already know, I am very keen on diversity and literature, particularly as a woman of color myself and a minority in both race and religion. A whole challenge based up on books from different walks and experiences of life? Sign me right up, please and thank you very much.

To learn more about how Dive Into Diversity works, you can definitely click right there on that banner and be taken to the lovely hosts' explanation, but here's my general summary: from January right up until December, participants will be writing up diverse reviews and posts.

At least one diverse title a month is encouraged. I hope I'll be logging in more than that.

I'm planning to make a personal list of diverse titles I've been planning to dig into - you'll likely see a link to a relevant GoodReads shelf sooner or later - but you can see a few of the ones I'm already stockpiling right here. (Yay, informative collage!)

I'm already reading She Wore Red Trainers, so I'm not sure if that's cheating or not.

I particularly have been planning to breathe life in my sadly unused Diversify feature, and this is definitely a good challenge to help do just that.

Are you planning to Dive into Diversity? Do you have any titles you think might pique my appetite? You know what to do. And be sure to check back in January for my first post!

Diversify! - [Author Pack] Delilah S. Dawson

Welcome to the second (very belated) installment of Diversify! If you aren't sure what is up with the flaring capes, legendary names and razor-sharp wit, click here to see my official announcement for my new blog series (the long and short of it: a celebration of the people who make diversity possible in this industry and are working toward change).

Today's post is special, as a) it is a Tuesday, and b) it is this particular heroine's book birthday, which is a very lovely and momentuous occasion indeed and deserves all the bombarding of social media. So Diversify and I are striving to do our part.

Please note: I'm adding a minor warning here because Delilah does discuss abuse and assault in her past. Just keep that in mind. 

Delilah S. Dawson
Author of Servants of the Storm
 
ATK 100 + a book birthday boost of 50
DEF 100 + a book birthday boost of 50

Power Up Items: Coffee and cake

At arms, if you dare. Delilah's armed with wit, charm and experience in fencing and muay thai - and she's not afraid to use them.

Delilah S. Dawson's power as an author rests in compassion and the need to offer teen readers a different point of view.

"Writing diversity is an effort to show a world beyond my own, beyond the default that's surrounded me all my life. Not that it's been an easy life. As a kid, I lived with alcoholism and domestic abuse, and as a teen, I survived rape and suicide.


I found comfort in fantasy and horror fiction, in worlds that showed the secret darkness I was living while the outside of our house looked All-American and happy. And as an adult, I want to reach out to a wide range of teens and reflect what they're living or give them an escape of their own."

 Because she's a woman, Delilah is aware that some enemies will think they can get the jump on her under the assumption that she'll just hang back and let them hit first.It's why the Unexpected Flurry Attack is her special technique, in writing as well as fencing and muay thai.

Think she'll let you get the better of her?

You'd better have an ice pack or two ready for when she wipes the floor with you.

If Delilah and her protagonist, Dovey, had to pair up and take down the forces of evil, their main strategy would be to "shoot anything with fox ears". 

Delilah's past, and her exterior appearance, are another reason why writing diversely appeals to her.

"As my picture will tell you, I am not particularly diverse on the outside. I'm a married, suburban white mom. More distinctly, I'm a Southern mutt, with no family traditions, histories, or origins. We don't even know where my ancestors came from. Basically, it's boring white people as far as the family tree can drop us. I've always been jealous of people with deep ties to place, with culture, with roots, with more than jeans and an American flag t-shirt as our national costume. My parents valued being normal and conservative and close-minded. And I didn't."

Delilah sees her writing diverse characters as important, particularly after having a lack of diversity in her first two titles pointed out by a reader.

"I realized I hadn't even noticed it. So I started finding ways to incorporate a more diverse cast. It's a great way to rebel while doing something useful. My readers deserve a world that reflects them."

Servants of the Storm, which releases today, is described by Delilah as "a paean to friendship and fighting for what's right as much as it is a creepy Southern Gothic story about demons in Savannah. I hope readers will appreciate Dovey's tenacity and loyalty to Carly and enjoy her adventure."

More power to you, Delilah. Keep up the good fight!

 Be part of the change we need. Be a hero. Diversify.

Diversify! - [Author Pack] Ellen Oh

Welcome to the first installment of Diversify! If you aren't sure what is up with the flaring capes, legendary names and razor-sharp wit, click here to see my official announcement for my new blog series (the long and short of it: a celebration of the people who make diversity possible in this industry and are working toward change).

Since my last post on my involvement with the #WeNeedDiverseBooks team, our little campaign has sprouted legs and run off with farther results that we'd expected or even hoped for. It's been wonderful to see submissions still pouring in, people touched by the campaign and reaching out to support, and a general sense that yes, diversity is needed, and we can all make it happen.

With that in mind, I thought it'd be perfect to kick off Diversify! (and postpone my rather dry FAQ I've been preparing until the end of the week) with a real-life hero that is rocking your social media.

Ellen Oh
#WeNeedDiverseBooks Team Leader

Author of the Prophecy series (HarperTeen)

ATK 100
DEF 100

Power Up Items: Donuts, French Fries, steak, chocolate or cake 

The brains behind the #WeNeedDiverseBooks initiative, Ellen combines her smarts with a deadly knowledge of the art of pointy stick warcraft.

 (Hide your toothpicks.)

Ellen Oh is a force to be reckoned with.

A self-described "bull headed Taurus", she admits that when someone tells her she can't do something, she sets out to prove them wrong.

"The importance of diversity was programmed into my DNA, I think. I've always been about equality and justice - it's why I became a lawyer. As a lawyer, I saw so much sexism in my professional life that it was galling. And racism was something I had dealt with all my life. So how can I not stand for diversity?"

If your strategy for battle is to wait it out until a hero gets tired, you'll be waiting a long time on Ellen.

"People always ask me, "Don't you get sick of getting up on your soapbox?" And I say "No matter how old and infirm I get, I'll still roll my wheelchair up on that diversity soapbox. Until the day I don't need to do it anymore."

Ellen has another personal incentive for fighting for diversity: her daughters.

"I'm Korean American and I have three daughters who are also Korean American. Diversity became a huge issue for me when my first daughter was born and I went looking for kids' books that she could relate to and came up short."

Times are changing, and with every step Ellen takes in the battle for diversity and representation, she hopes they are for the better.

"When I was young, finding a strong girl hero was really difficult. But times have changed in that respect. Now it's up to us to do the same for authors of underrepresented groups that have long been marginalized. And I won't stop until progress is made!"

Don't get on her bad side, folks. Her attack level won't fall until change happens, but yours might.

Be part of the change we need. Be a hero. Diversify.

#WeNeedDiverseBooks and How You Can Help

I think I'm preaching to the choir here, but at the eleventh hour and with so much support streaming, I think it's worth it to put this here and let you do as you will with it!

(I'm taking a page from Ilene Gregorio's book and copying off Aisha Saeed here - thanks, Aisha!)

I’m honored to be part of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign. It begins tomorrow, May 1st and ends May 3rd but the conversations have already begun with an overwhelming outpouring of support from publishers, agents, and authors like Veronica Roth, Laurie Halse Andersen, LeVar Burton, John Green, and so many many more, but most importantly, an outpouring of support from the public who desperately wants more diverse books. It’s a reminder we need diverse books and that there is an audience for books like these.

Does diversity matter to you? Do you want to read about people that represent a myriad of viewpoints and perspectives and backgrounds? Then Please Join Us!

For a basic understanding of how this came to be and the important dates, please read here.

To follow along on tumblr where we’re answering questions as they come up please check here.

To RSVP on FB for a reminder and to spread the word to your friends please do so here.
To join the conversation on twitter that started early and shows no sign of stopping check out the hashtag: #WeNeedDiverseBooks and follow the campaign at our twitter handle here.

Send in your pictures. Share your thoughts. Spread the word. Join the movement. We need diverse voices represented in our beautiful diverse nation and this campaign gives hope for exactly more of that.

There is not much more I can add to this, except that I am so proud to be part of this initiative. I am proud of the attention it's gotten, to the point that we started getting a buzz behind it two days ahead of schedule. 

In lieu of the fact that this campaign has been taking up all of my time and energy, the Diversify! initiative and my new review schedule will be moved to next week. 

Diverse books are needed. And now, there are hundreds of voices chiming in to express this need. Be part of it. Let's make it happen!

Viva la Kidlit Revolution!

It is heartening to see all the discussions about diversity recently, be it the BookCon shenanigans (spoiler if you haven't been following along: they are NOT good shenanigans and we at YA Interrobang have already announced our refusal to cover it while attending BEA) or talk about new steps forward and new initiatives to keep this drive going.

Already, the lovely Ellen Oh has gotten the ball going with the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement, which will launch this week. Check out the post on it, and the Tumblr, for more information on getting involved!

But on to the main point of this post: my friend Steph and I have been dropping little tantalizing hints for you guys about a major project that we were scheming up. We wanted all this talk about diversity to be channeled into action that could very well shake up the industry's deeply-set prejudices and internalized racism.

With that in mind, today we are introducing Kidlit Revolution!

As you can see, Steph has done an amazing job of summing up what we've set out to do in her intro post, but I'll do a quick recap for the sake of my readers here.

Kidlit Revolution aims to be a driving force for actual change within the publishing industry, by focusing attention and support on diverse books that may not be getting the buzz they need from publishers. However, this won't be done through a few reviews or separate posts.

The whole goal of Kidlit Revolution is - well, revolution.

We want to pose a unified front.

This is us right now. Except we aren't exactly Pixar characters. And we aren't cooking.

Steph's outlined the steps we're planning on, so I'll just drop those here:

1. "Every week, we're going to feature an innovative, diverse kidlit or YA book that isn't receiving the most effective marketing support. We'll tell you about the selection, the author, and other pertinent information."
2. "Every day for that week, we will initiate a specific call to action intended to help that book succeed. For example: buy the book, write a review, read the book, share the book, ask your library to stock the book, pre-order the book, contact the publisher to say you want to see more like that book, etc"
3. "We will also spearhead more ambitious projects intended to affect the industry, such as requests to split the YA Best Seller List into hardcover and paperback books so it becomes less skewed."

There is a lot more to it than that, but the gist is, "We want change, so we're going to band together to promote that change." Steph and I are aware that the two of us cannot carry this through alone. We are going to need you, our community, to make this project a reality and a success.

So what can you do to help?

Glad you asked, lovely people. Please, if you want to support us, let us know. Pledge to spread the word, to keep an eye out for what we might need and fill the gaps for us if you can. Help us get in touch with the people we need to know about to make bigger connections and form a community that can make differences at large.

The project will launch this summer, so keep an eye out for more updates! I'm so excited to go into this with Steph, who is one of my favorites on here and has been for some time, and also to hear your responses and thoughts!

Viva la revolution!

Diversify! - A New Blog Series

As a person from several diverse backgrounds – religion-wise and family-wise in particular, it is hard to ignore the problem facing diversity authors in the publishing industry.

Their books don’t sell well.

Some of them aren’t even picked up at all.

If diverse books happen to raise their head above the waves, they usually are ones that don’t offer proper representation – seeded with tokenism and stereotypes that don’t offer the cultures or races involved what they need or deserve.

As my friend Kelly Jensen points out, diversity is not an “us vs. them issue’. We all need representation, because this is the reality of our life. Everyone needs for their voice to be heard.

I remarked the other day in a conversation that often it seems like those asking for diversity or even odds in the industry – including me – are like Oliver Twist, timidly wringing our hands and whispering, “Well, this is good, but please, can we have more?”

Women authors deserve more. Diversity authors deserve more.

So what is this new series about?

The other day, I mentioned via social media that I might want to make two separate series for the blog. I’ve been feeling recently like I want to do more to support authors besides book reviews (and also, as much as I love book reviews, they can get a little boring if that is the bread and butter of my posts).

One of these series will focus on midlist authors, several of whom I am fond and consider friends, and who deserve more of a buzz around them than they actually get.

And another – the one that I’m discussing today and will kick off Monday the 28th – will focus on diversity: those who write it, who campaign it in the industry, and who are willing to discuss it and the issues.

How will it work?

I don’t know who else used to be a huge fan of Yu-Gi-Oh, or any other trading card games that kids pass around and trade back and forth. What I want to do is focus on the heroes in action of diversity – and we’re going to be doing it in RPG/trading card format.

I’ll be taking a figure or author in the industry who stands for YA, with their “stats” and “strengths” – why does diversity matter to them, how have they taken a stance, what books they’ve written – and so on. I’d also like to see if I could get them to contribute a few quick facts in a mini-interview format, so you can see exactly why they are so cool.

Between these features, I’d also like to do some specifically diversity-geared reviews, with a discussion of why this book is needed – or, possibly, why it might be problematic.

How can you help?

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who expressed interest in this. I would love if you could just get in touch with me through the form below and let me know if you’d like to help out or offer your voice for this series. 

Let me know how you feel about this initiative. Is there something you think I should add? Something else you also think I should keep in mind? I would definitely like to add an occasional podcast feature in there to discuss the issues, so if that is something you’d like to see, here or on DiversifYA (which I recently joined as a contributor!), please sound off and let me know!

In addition, nothing would help this more than passing it forward. Do you know an author who might want to get in touch? Pass it on!

I am so excited to be doing this, and I am gratified for the positive responses I’ve received thus far. All of us can be part of this movement for change. We all deserve to be seen in the books we love and champion. Diversity authors need to be nurtured and encouraged that they are needed.

Let us make 2014 the year when we start moving forward.

Be sure to check back on April 28^th for the inaugural post, and later on this week for a briefing on a summer project related to diversity that S.E. Sinkhorn and I will be spearheading!