Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 106

next steps

As I mentioned before, when you're agitating for change you've got to walk with suggestions.  So we made our list; we now know that about 50 MG/YA novels by black authors were published in the US this year.  Here's what I'd like you to do NEXT:

READ THESE BOOKS!  I had a lot of help putting together this list and there were many titles I'd never heard of, which is precisely the problem:  publishers don't put much marketing money behind books by writers of color.  So now that we know about...

the breakdown

Now that the oracle has spoken (thanks, Doret!) I'm ready to analyze our data.  I should start by saying that I underestimated the publishing industry—sort of.  I didn't think we'd hit 20 titles by black authors in the US and instead we topped 40!  Consider, however, that the ALA estimates about 3,000 YA titles are published each year, which means we're still less than 2% of the total.  Not surprisingly, most presses/imprints only put out ONE black-authored novel this year.  Here are the...

the grim reality

I've been wanting to do this for a while.  I wanted to know just how many novels for young readers (MG & YA) were published this year.  I'm limiting this list to US-based authors of African descent.  Have I missed anyone?

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, 8TH GRADE SUPERZERO (January; Arthur Levine)Rita Williams-Garcia, ONE CRAZY SUMMER  (January; Harper)Dia Reeves, BLEEDING VIOLET (January; Simon Pulse)Sharon Flake, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME (February; Hyperion)Patricia C. McKissack, et al., THE...

don't let me be misunderstood

In my Book Smugglers guest post, I talked about the extra burden some writers of color bear when we decide to become author/activists.  Neesha Meminger recently articulated this form of privilege in relation to the rising Islamophobia in this country, making the point that choosing NOT to speak out is in and of itself an exercise of power.  If you haven't read Shine, Coconut Moon YET, now's the time—seriously.  I wish parents and educators and librarians understood that stories told from...

intertextuality

When I wrote Wish, I incorporated one of my favorite picture books into the narrative by having Genna read Christopher Myers' Wings to her baby brother.  This time around, I've got Genna searching for signs of magic, which leads her to discover Virginia Hamilton's The People Could Fly.  For half a year after graduating from college, I worked in a black bookstore in Toronto—to this day, certain book covers are fixed in my mind because it was my job to display the books and everything was...

torn

I'm doing research today, but I'm torn between wanting to read these scholarly articles and needing to wrap up the THREE different chapters I'm working on right now.  The A is for Anansi conference is coming up in a few weeks, and I'm moderating a panel on issues of identity and representation.  So this morning I finished up an article on the legend of "the Flying Africans," which is helping me with the creation of a portal for Genna, and then I looked up some other articles: "Reading in...

submit your best story!

About the Award

LEE & LOW BOOKS, award-winning publisher of children's books, is pleased to announce the eleventh annual NEW VOICES AWARD. The Award will be given for a children's picture book manuscript by a writer of color. The Award winner receives a cash grant of $1000 and our standard publication contract, including our basic advance and royalties for a first time author. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash grant of $500.

Established in 2000, the New Voices Award encourages...

weekend in review

On Saturday I made sure I packed my digital and Flip cameras before leaving the house; I planned to attend a talk between Mitali Perkins and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich at the Brooklyn Book Festival, and wanted to record the experience for this blog.  I spent the morning applying for jobs, then got myself ready to meet a friend at the Brooklyn Museum at noon.  I never watched Work of Art, the reality show where actual artists compete to have a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum.  But I'm...

sign of the times

a fine balance

Ok, this is the chapter that pushed me over the 46K-word mark.  It's still a bit rough around the edges, and way too long—so I've posted the first section here, and will keep tinkering with the rest.  My apologies to any native speakers of Creole—I haven't verified these translations, and still have some research to do.  Peter is Judah's friend; he has become an important character in the sequel, and in the previous chapter he mocks Genna for believing in Hollywood's representation of Vodou a...