In a twitter exchange on april 17th, 2014, ellen oh and malinda lo expressed their frustration with the lack of diversity in kidlit. A future time where things dont look so great, but the characters in the stories have hope for something better. The future will come bearing many new lesbian books that will be warmly received by the mainstream, as well as college classes on lady gaga, new ellen page. When critics on social media cancel a ya writer or book, its really about.
This wasnt a new conversation for ellen or malinda, just the latest, this time in response to the allwhite, allmale panel of childrens authors assembled for bookcons may 31st reader event. Just search for the hashtag on twitter, on tumblr, or on facebook, and youll find some humanity. She also loves martial arts films, kpop, kdramas, cooking shows, and is a rabid fan of the last airbender and the legend of korra series. Within the past few years, the call for more representative childrens books has been steadily building.
Gaithersburg book festival to put spotlight on the lack of. When a family sees a family like theirs, there is so much to talk about. Warrior picks up just days after prophecy leaves off, the events of the first book still very fresh in the hearts of kira and her family. Adult books, ellen oh and malinda lo, began a twitter conversation. Weve been featuring guest posts from ellen oh, author of prophecy over on pitch dark and today were lucky to share her final post. A diversity reading list from ellen oh epic reads blog. One year ago, we need diverse books wndb started with a hashtag. This project came about from a twitter conversation i was having with malinda lo and cindy pon, lee and low books, and megan osullivan of braun books malinda and cindy have done such an awesome job with diversity in ya so it was no surprise that they would start tweeting about the lack of diversity at bookcon. Malinda lo is the author of ash, huntress, and adaptation. Grumpy cat was the last straw for authors ellen oh and malinda lo.
Why diversity in literature matters tck publishing. In april of this year, the we need diverse books campaign took the ya literary world by storm. The movement got its informal start last year as a twitter exchange between oh and malinda lo, in which they lamented about the lack of diversity in childrens literature. For instance, author malinda lo compiles her own statistics on lgbtq. Last friday, one year later, i was able to attend the we need diverse books panel at book expo america. Ya author ellen oh told pw that, while the issue of diversity in childrens literature has. Ellen ohs words on restriction intellectual freedom blog. The popular cat of internet fame was invited to be. Three ply yarn revives lesserknown lesbian histories. Kdrama 101, a lesson on korean mythology and ellen s favorite anime films.
Bookcon controversy begets diversity social media campaign. It all started in 2014 as a twitter exchange between authors ellen oh and malinda lo. There have been a number of science fiction anthologies released over the last few years, and a good portion of them were on the subject of dystopian worlds. They spoke of taking action that there werent many diverse books on the market for childrens literature. Huntress, by malinda lo two strong, smart girls, a.
Highlighting fantasy and science fiction with authors holly black, cinda williams chima, karen healey, malinda lo, cindy pon, and greg van eekhout. Later that month, a group that included authors ellen oh, malinda lo, and. What started as a tweet between creators malinda lo and ellen oh has turned into a grassroots movement that has bloggers, authors, librarians, and publishers getting involved and addressing the need for diverse characters and narratives in. A twitter conversation between ya fantasy authors ellen oh and malinda lo sparked the popular we need diverse books campaign. Books, lady gaga, ellen page and rachel bilson are the. Meet the kids authors that dazzle, which only featured white men. Young adult fiction and childrens literature in general have historically shown a lack of diversity, that is, a lack of books with a main character who is a person of color, lgbt, or disabled. Apropos of nothing, i just feel very proud that i wrote a murder mystery about lesbians and didnt kill any lesbians in the process. Meanwhile, the speculative literature foundation recently launched two diversityfocused grants. The initial twitter conversation took place between oh, malinda lo and cindy pon of lee and low books, and megan osullivan of braun books. In a twitter exchange on april 17th, 2014, ellen oh and malinda lo another.
Ellen oh ya author, president aisha saeed ya author, vp strategy. Stay tuned to the hub as we reveal the nominees for 2019s quick picks, amazing audiobooks, great graphic novels for teens, and best fiction for young adults. Were starting with a visual social media campaign using the hashtag. A line in the dark by malinda lo dutton books penguin random house. Ya twitter can be toxic, but it also points out real problems. A few ya authors, including popular fantasy author ellen oh, refused to take this sitting down. On stevie and me from jacqueline woodsons brown girl. Lectura books publishes books specifically for hispanic families in a bilingual format. If you work with childrens books and go online, theres no way you can miss the colorful logo of the we need diverse books wndb campaign, which launched in 2014. Compiled by we need diverse books s ellen oh and elsie chapman, the authors included in this exquisite collection are. He also cites the booktofilm events on the docketjohn greens paper.
Many people responded to the recent call for diverse books. Ellen oh discusses why we need diverse books booktrib. We will be at booth 3591, so come on by and say hi. The phenomenon hit social media last year, shortly after bookcon announced a panel, blockbuster reads. On may 1 st at 1pm est, there will be a public call for action that will spread over three days. The we need diverse books campaign is working to make diverse books a priority in the publishing world.
The book all of a sudden comes to life and that makes reading so much more engaging and fun. To paul gregory for working his magic to make me look presentable in my author photo. If youre a frequent twitter user, then youve probably already heard of we need diverse books. Call for more inclusive stories in the sciencefiction. An obvious goal is spreading the word about books and authors that readers may have missed. Short fiction dont speak the new york times, june 30, 2019 red foreshadow, 2019 we could be heroes autostraddle, 2018 meet cute in fresh ink we need diverse books ya anthology edited by lamar giles crown, 2018 new year in all out edited by saundra mitchell harlequinteen, 2018. Weneeddiversebooks hits twitter melville house books. While diversity initiatives have been on my mind for a very long time, this particular hashtag campaign struck me hard on the day bookcon announced its. What started as a tweet between creators malinda lo and ellen oh has turned into a grassroots movement that has bloggers, authors. The numbers of childrens book authors have shown a similar lack of diversity. This wasnt their first discussion about the lack of representation in childrens books.
Heres 21 diverse ya books that need to be movies now get on it, hollywood. We will have information, signings, and representatives from sfwa and writer beware. The hashtag, which later became the nonprofits name, was part of a tweet exchange about the lack of diversity at last years bookcon. Little, brown books for young readers publish date. The science fiction and fantasy writers of america will, for the first time, be participating in book expo america, june 57, in new york city. This wasnt a new conversation for ellen or malinda, just the latest, this time in response to the allwhite, allmale. I had the chance to talk to ellen about how flying. The followup book to adaptation, inheritance, will be available september 18, 20 little, brown books for young readers. In april of 2014 now ceo and president, ellen oh, had a twitter exchange with malinda lo where they expressed their frustration over the lack of diversity in childrens literature in response to the all white male childrens authors panel at the bookcon reader event. Its more than fair to ask why jackson and zhao themselves writers of. Originally from nyc, ellen oh is cofounder, president and ceo of weneeddiversebooks, an adjunct college instructor, and a former entertainment lawyer with an insatiable curiosity for ancient asian history. The word important and how its applied to childrens and young adult books especially diverse books, which is the way the publishing industry has come to describe books about marginalized characters, e. Ellen oh, founder of the we need diverse books movement, returns with spirit hunters, a highstakes middle grade mystery about harper raine, a koreanamerican new seventh grader in town who must face down the dangerous ghosts haunting her younger brother.
Book expo america monday, may 23, 2011 slj prebea day of dialog 9. At my very first library job, one of the school requests i got was specifically for young adult anthologies. When oh discussed taking action, numerous authors, bloggers and others in the industry offered to join in. Im more likely to avoid tweeting about books, says rowell. Secrets are revealed and dark bargains offered in the twelfth and penul.
The we need diverse books campaign is an amazing campaign that started advocating for diverse books in 2014 on twitter by ellen oh and malinda lo. What started as a tweet between creators malinda lo and ellen oh has turned into a grassroots movement that has bloggers, authors, librarians, and publishers getting involved and addressing the need for diverse characters and narratives in childrens literature. The conversation expanded on twitter in 2014 to include author ellen oh, and the three questioned why major book conferences like bookexpo kept having panels. The teacher used the stories as a means of getting teens interested in reading in a different way something short, catchy, and with their reading in mind, young adult anthologies helped encourage new reading experiences and voices to those who might. In april 2014, two authors of young adult books, ellen oh and malinda lo, began a twitter conversation about last years bookcon, and specifically about their. To kami garcia and sarah rees brennan for taking time out of their enormously busy and talented lives to offer a n00b writer two incredible blurbs, and to jj, cindy pon, malinda lo, and ellen oh for your invaluable advice, kind words, and twitter entertainment.