Kibkabe Araya's Blog, page 3

‘Shakti Girls’ Author Shetal Shah Uses Poetry to Tell the Stories of Indian Innovators

A former teacher who taught at all-girls schools, Shetal Shah said she noticed how the girls’ self-esteems soared when they were learning about women of various diverse backgrounds. This has led to Shakti Girls, her debut children’s picture book featuring poetic biographies about trailblazing women across the Indian diaspora. “Shakti” refers to an individual’s divine power and energy in traditional Hinduism. This energy is considered female because mothers have the power to birth new life, according to the first page of the book. Throughout the book, the poems highlight the accomplishments of newsmakers such as Vice President Kamala Harris to actress-producer Mindy Kaling, but we also learn about former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, gymnast Mohini Bhardwaj, and astronaut Kalpana Chawla. Empowering Hindi words and motivating messages are woven into the verses to affirm each young reader’s identity and self-esteem. A short glossary of English and Hindi words is provided on each page to enhance the experience, as well as activities to empower one’s inner shakti. The inspiration to tell these stories are not only from Shetal’s education background, but it also pairs with her upbringing in New York City as a second-generation Indian American. She talks to she lit about […]

Defunding Libraries Remains a Legal Threat

SHE LIT: Defunding Libraries Remains a Legal Threat 🏛️ Missouri lawmakers vote to defund the state’s libraries while others vow to reverse action. Plus, Brittney Griner plans to release a new memoir. View this email in your browser #currentlyreading Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell Missouri House votes to defund libraries as Senate plans to add money back to budget News broke last week that Missouri’s state House had passed a budget to stop using taxpayer dollars to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at health care facilities and educational institutions. What was buried in the proposed budget was that the 160 library districts in Missouri would lose $4.5 million in funding. It comes down to a lawsuit filed by the Missouri Association of School Librarians and the Missouri Library Association to declare that the Missouri Revised Statute §573.550 is unconstitutional. The statute says anyone in an official position at a school such as a librarian or teacher distributing “explicit sexual material” to children will be charged with a misdemeanor. The librarians filed Missouri Association of School Librarians v. Baker in Jackson County Circuit Court against the state’s prosecuting attorneys because they felt they had to take legal action […]

What We Learn About Brittney Griner in Her First Memoir

Basketball star Brittney Griner will be releasing a new memoir next year about her 10-month detention in a Russian prison. The release of this book will coincide with the 10th anniversary of her first memoir In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court. As the first memoir highlights the moments leading up to her newfound stardom, the second memoir will focus on the transition of becoming an unexpected political prisoner and activist. “Readers will hear my story and understand why I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support from people across the world,” Brittney said in a press release about the memoir. “By writing this book, I also hope to raise awareness surrounding other Americans wrongfully detained abroad such as Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Emad Shargi, Airan Berry, Shahab Dalili, Luke Denman, Eyvin Hernandez, Majd Kamalmaz, Jerrel Kenemore, Kai Li, Siamak Namazi, Austin Tice, Mark Swidan and Morad Tahbaz.” Alfred A. Knopf, a Penguin Random House imprint, is the publisher behind the untitled memoir. The news was announced amid the WNBA draft where University of South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston was the No. 1 pick and more than a week after Brittney’s former Baylor University coach Kim Mulkey […]

The High Cost of Supporting Marginalized Authors

SHE LIT: The High Cost of Supporting Marginalized Authors ⚖️ A group dedicated to serving authors who identify within the diversity spectrum closes. Plus, a judge orders banned books to be returned to shelves. View this email in your browser #currentlyreading Belonging: A Daughter’s Search for Identity Through Loss and Love by Michelle Miller DiverseVoices folds under pressure to ease barriers for underrepresented creators We have lost a literary nonprofit organization dedicated to making sure more authors across diverse backgrounds enter the tough publishing market. DiverseVoices Inc. has closed its doors online, according to an email and social media messages sent out last Friday. Founded in 2019 by Beth Phelan of the Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency, the organization aspired “to empower and advocate for minority, underrepresented and other marginalized groups of writers, illustrators and other book creators.” It rose from #DVPit, one of the more popular hashtag campaigns used on Twitter by aspiring writers from underrepresented groups pitching their stories in 280 characters or less for literary agents to take notice. #DVPit will live on, but the organization that blossomed from it seems to have fallen prey to the excess work necessary to diversify the publishing industry. DiverseVoices mainly […]

‘Bel-Air’ Shows How a Black Teacher Could Be Punished for Expanding Book Access

⚠️ Spoilers ahead! Watch the series on Peacock. Peacock’s Bel-Air not only united the original Ashley Banks with the new Ashley Banks, but the reboot drama united them in a storyline highlighting the near erasure of Black literature in the classroom. The show is a serious portrayal of the 1990s NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air that brought rapper Will Smith to the silver screen. The new version stars Jabari Banks, who has an uncanny resemblance to Will and holds the fictional last name of the TV family in real life. It’s still the same story of a Black teen boy from West Philadelphia who must move to the upscale Los Angeles enclave of Bel-Air with his aunt and her immediate family to stay out of trouble.  Tatyana Ali, who played Ashley in the sitcom, made a guest appearance in the second season of Bel-Air by playing teacher Ms. Hughes to the reimagined version of her former character Ashley, played by Akira Akbar.  At the elite Bel-Air Academy, Ms. Hughes gives Ashley a book, The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panther Party in Oakland, by Robyn C. Spencer, in the premiere episode “A Fresh Start.” […]

After Years of Revisions, a Writing Win

SHE LIT: After Years of Revisions, a Writing Win🏆 Starting Women’s History Month with an award that could lead to a published book. Plus, female authors are selling more books than male authors. View this email in your browser It’s Women’s History Month every day here. After winning a literary contest, how do you prepare to promote yourself as an author? Ringing in Women’s History Month with my own personal historical achievement: I won in the middle grade/young adult category for the Black Creatives Revisions Workshop. The program was sponsored by literary advocacy organization We Need Diverse Books and mega-publisher Penguin Random House. After years of submitting stories to fellowships, I finally nabbed a fellowship and won the grand prize! The workshop lasted four months in 2022 from May to September. My cohort and I submitted our revised manuscripts to Penguin Random House at the end. The application required a completed draft manuscript, as the main focus of the workshop was to prep that manuscript for publication. While spending those months on trying to perfect my story to the best of my ability, I got married, left a job, started a job, and brainstormed my next idea for a novel. […]

Black Characters in Children’s Literature Are Disappearing as Schools Limit History Courses

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Searching for books by Black female authors this month? Take a look at authors we’ve featured Black characters in children’s literature are disappearing as schools limit history courses In mid-January, two weeks before Black History Month, the Florida Department of Education rejected the new A.P. African American Studies course. The state agency claimed the content “significantly lacks educational value.” Earlier this month, the College Board announced it revised the Advanced Placement course, making parts of the curriculum optional like those that touch on intersectionality and contemporary issues. How the precollegiate course was trimmed down over complaints of alleged untruths became part of the bigger conversation: Black children being impacted by the removal of instructional materials that show people who look like them. More books focused on accurate U.S. history and featuring Black characters are being banned nearly every day across the country. The stakes are higher, with the rise in legislation such as Florida’s Stop WOKE Act and bills to ban books with “sexually explicit” content. These efforts impact all children, but Black children are seeing a higher impact with not being able to see themselves in books that have been on shelves for years and generations because […]

‘Wildblood’ Writer Lauren Blackwood Brings Magic to the Jamaican Jungle in Historical Fantasy Novel

Following the success of Within These Wicked Walls, Lauren Blackwood returns with another vibrant story, this time set in a magical Jamaican jungle. Wildblood, which is out now from Macmillan’s Wednesday Books, takes us to the late 19th century and builds a unique story that serves as an extraordinary sophomore novel after weaving the thread of the Charlotte Brontë classic Jane Eyre into an Ethiopian retelling with her debut novel. Within These Wicked Walls earned the recognition of being a Reese’s Book Club Fall 2021 YA Pick. The new young adult book centers on Victoria, an 18-year-old woman who was kidnapped at a young age and forced to serve as a guide within a tourist company that specializes in venturing into the jungle. Except the jungle has creatures that could be dangerous to mortals such as spirits that can snatch souls without remorse. Victoria is a Wildblood, meaning she has the magic to communicate with the creatures and, in her professional standing, can ensure the safety of tourists. When a well-known Black gold miner named Laertes Thorn becomes a client with his rather large party, Victoria is tasked with her fellow Wildbloods to bring these foreigners to a mountain allegedly […]

Investing in the Success of Black Authors

SHE LIT: Investing in the Success of Black Authors💰 Publishers need to put up more money to support Black authors. Plus, a media company with a book club brings in a partner to promote diversity. Searching for books by Black female authors this month? Take a look at authors we’ve featured Lower financial investment remains a hurdle in publishing industry’s diversity pledges We are in our third Black History Month since June 2020 when the Black Lives Matter movement ignited over the murder of George Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis by a police officer. The publishing industry responded, like many other industries, by examining the statistics of their employees as well as the contributors including the authors, illustrators, and translators. Three years ago, publishers hired nearly 75% White employees and represented 75% White authors. Those numbers are still about the same because of money. The percentage of White employees hasn’t changed much since publishers have revealed their diversity statistics, according to PEN America, the nonprofit dedicated to speech freedom. Its latest report finds Penguin Random House’s employees are 74% White, Macmillan’s 70.5% White, and Hachette’s 64.6% White. They lead the Big Five alongside Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins. The […]

When Diverse Books Don’t Cross Our Paths

SHE LIT: When Diverse Books Don’t Cross Our Paths 🧭 Students forced to read certain books may not see what they’re missing. Plus, a state bill targets “sexually explicit” content in children’s books. View this email in your browser #CurrentlyReading Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood 🏝️ What it feels like for a girl in this world with invisible book bans in classrooms There has been so much fabulous TV to binge in the new year. Are we all watching the same shows? Probably not. But one of the biggest splashes on a streaming service in the past few weeks is Ginny & Georgia on Netflix. This unique series features Ginny, a biracial teenager played by Antonia Gentry who’s troubled by the actions of her beautifully dangerous White mother, Georgia, played by Brianne Howey, who tends to murder people. The first episode of the second season, which dropped on Netflix on Jan. 5, shows bibliophile Ginny reading Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower when Georgia walks into her bedroom. (The late Black science fiction author is having a moment on TV right now with the addition of her debut novel Kindred being turned into a FX on Hulu series.) Back to […]