Interlude: Resources for writers on racism, diversity, & inclusion in writing and publishing
Interlude: Resources for writers on racism, diversity, & inclusion in writing and publishing
Words are powerful.
Interlude: Resources for writers on racism, diversity, & inclusion in writing and publishing
“So let’s all get a little uncomfortable.” ― Ijeoma Oluo, So You Want to Talk About Race
{image from Clay Banks via Unsplash}
Greetings readers & writers,
The horrors of this past week’s news have, rightly, overshadowed any notes I had planned for this newsletter. As writers and artists, we are in a unique position: we interpret and channel the world around us through words and craft so that we can help readers, and ourselves, process difficult truths. To do that sensitively and effectively, we need to understand the many pervasive ways that racism affects our industry and our craft. We have critical work to do.
With that in mind, I wanted to take this space to point you towards some writers and industry professionals who are tackling issues of racism/anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion in this country, alongside how these issues are being approached in the world of books, writing, and publishing. There are, of course, far more individuals and organizations doing this critical work than I have highlighted here. I encourage you to share additional resources in the comments or with me directly.
Writers hold a lot of power in moments of cultural shift. Stay informed, write your truth, and support writers and institutions of color.
“You write in order to change the world ... if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.” —James Baldwin
~Allison
First of all…
In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.
— Angela Y. Davis
What is anti-racism? Here’s an excellent primer from the National Museum of African-American History and Culture’s website if you’re not familiar with the term.
On Writing About Racial Violence
I encourage you to read this powerful essay by Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Riot Baby: “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream: The Duty of the Black Writer During Times of American Unrest” which vividly unspools the heartbreaking complexity of trying to write about pain in the midst of living beside and inside it:
“There was nothing beautiful or aesthetically intelligent about the destruction of his body. There isn’t a sentence in the world that can make it anything other than the abominable and heinous act it was. But the words are what to which I flee when confronted by the confusing and the hurtful and the lessening. We were both writers, this man and I. Words were how we organized the universe.”
Below you will find links to…
Reading Lists
KidLit Rally for Black Lives
Diversity and Inclusion Conversations and Efforts in Publishing
Writing Support for Black Writers
Understanding Inclusive Writing
Black-owned Bookstores
Reading Lists About Anti/Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion:
By not running from the books that pain us, we can allow them to transform us.
—Ibram X. Kendi
An Antiracist Reading List from Ibram X. Kendi
A non-fiction Antiracist Reading List from The Stacks podcast
Black History, Black Stories: 7 Books That Center Our Legacies for Longer Than a Month from The Root
Reading Lists of New Titles by Black Authors
56 Books By Women and Nonbinary Writers of Color to Read in 2020 from R.O Kwon on Electric Lit
10 Books By Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read in 2020 from WBUR
Top 12 ‘Must Read’ Books by Black Authors from 2019 from Black Enterprise
Teaching Kids about Race through Reading / Reading Lists of Books Featuring Children of Color
This twitter thread of children’s books discussing race and racism by educator @wanderingbritt_
31 Children's books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance from Embrace Race
These Books Can Help You Explain Racism and Protest to Your Kids from The New York Times
60 Picture Books Starring Black Mighty Girlsand 60 Mighty Girl Books About Standing Up for Othersfrom A Mighty Girl
Here Wee Read’s beautiful instagram of inclusive books for young people
TONIGHT!
The Brown Bookshelf, which uplifts the voices and books of Black creators in the kidlit community, is hosting a free KidLit Rally for Black Lives featuring discussion for both kids and parents/educators from this incredible list of kidlit authors-of-color.
Diversity and Inclusion Conversations and Efforts in Publishing
[This] work necessitates honest, meaningful, and impactful conversations about who has power, who doesn’t, and why; about access and inclusion; about ensuring that our industry—one that almost certainly has white supremacist roots—doesn’t look the same moving forward. It’s not about diversity as a matter of optics—it’s about changing racist systems to forge a better, more equitable present and future. —Patrice Caldwell, Founder of People of Color in Publishing
People of Color in Publishing is an organization founded on supporting and empowering POC in publishing industry (they have a great newsletter)
Diversity In Book Publishing Isn’t Just About Writers- Marketing Matters, Too from NPR’s Code Sw!tch
The Diversity in Publishing Survey. assesses the discrepancies in the publishing industry when it comes to hiring and publishing marginalized professionals.
The Open Book Blog (which publishes the Diversity in Publishing Survey) covers topics of race, diversity, and inclusion in the children’s book industry as well.
We Need Diverse Books promotes diversity in children’s literature and advocates for changes in the book industry
Three Organizations Changing the Face of Publishing from Positive.News highlights several imprints and organizations pushing for diverse publishing
Social Justice Resources for the Book Business from Publisher’s Weekly
Writing Support for Black Writers
Diversity in books is a civil rights frontier. —Jewell Parker Rhodes
Serving Writers and Readers: African-American Literary Organizations from Publisher’s Weekly
Awards and Grants for Writers of Color from The Open Book Blog
The Black Writers Collective seeks to create a safe community where Black writers can share ideas, take classes, and have shared access to writing resources
Free Within Ourselves and The African-American Guide to Publishing Non-Fiction by Jewell Parker Rhodes provide inspiration/guidance from and for black writers
FIYAH: Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction publishes stories, poetry, and book reviews that ask “What does it mean to be Black and look at intersectional issues of equality through the lens of science fiction and fantasy?”
Understanding Inclusive Writing
If you cannot write other without the assistance of a dedicated team of marginalized people to check your every sentence, then you should likely interrogate the writing that is about self. — Brandon Taylor
There is No Secret to Writing About People Who Do Not Look Like You by Brandon Taylor
Writing the Other: A Practical Approach by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward is an excellent, introductory manual to identify bias in ourselves and in storytelling
Writing the Other — the organization formed from the popularity of the book — hosts classes and programming on writing outside one’s lived experience
Writing With Color is a blog devoted to addressing bias, cultural appropriation, racism, and diversity in writing through Q&As, resources, and recommendations
And if possible, when expanding your personal library, please support indie bookstores, especially Black-Owned Bookstores, in the process (such as Frugal Bookstore in Boston, featured in this photo)!
Bookstores are doing their part to support the protests, let’s support them.
{image from Toa Heftiba via Unsplash}
Read, write, listen, and share. This is hard, impossible, but vital work. Please continue to share any projects, fundraisers, marketing efforts, and further resources so that we can signal boost.
~Allison
Writer & Marketing Coach
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Allison has happily made books her life’s work. She spent four years marketing and publicizing academic titles at The MIT Press before she went to work for Wellesley Books as a children’s bookseller and event coordinator. She is now living her dream: putting her B.A. in Creative Writing to good use as a novelist and as a writing/marketing coach for authors. She enjoys science fiction, cupcakes, and a hot cup of tea.