These days, as writers and illustrators work, they do so with sensitivity to the diversity of their audience. They also keep in mind factors such as equity and inclusion of all. If these practices are new to you, you may want to explore some resources to learn more.
Our new Coordinator of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Ellie Peterson, has compiled a list of materials to review. “These resources might be broken into a couple categories,” said Ellie Peterson. “One, understanding the problem, which might include the research behind the lack of diversity in children’s books and publishing. And two, the craft of writing and illustrating diversity respectfully.”
Take a look at these links. They’re a starting place for an exploration of today’s leading voices in the categories of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of writing and illustrators for children and young adults.
Suzanne Fairfax’s article in Illinois-SCBWI’s newsletter, p. 32 https://illinois.scbwi.org/files/2018/09/PW_Fall_2018-Interactive.pdf
From the NaNoWriMo blog in partnership with We Need Diverse BooksNovels that Get Representation Right by Aisha Saeed https://blog.nanowrimo.org/post/99734013026/we-need-diverse-books-novels-that-get
Guide to Spotting and Growing Past Stereotypes
https://blog.nanowrimo.org/post/100327727064/we-need-diverse-books-a-guide-to-spotting-and
Children’s Book Council Diversity Initiative https://www.cbcdiversity.com
LGBTQ+ YA Lit Stats and More by Malinda Lo https://www.malindalo.com/blog?tag=LGBTQ
Writing People of Color if you Happen to be a Person of Another Color by MariNaomi http://midnightbreakfast.com/writing-people-of-color
Where is the Diversity in Publishing? The 2015 Diversity Baseline Study from Lee and Low https://blog.leeandlow.com/2016/01/26/where-is-the-diversity-in-publishing-the-2015-diversity-baseline-survey-results/
KidLit Women Podcast episode 99 with Kekla Magoon https://diversebooks.org/resources/resources-for-writers/
