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The Diversity Train Now prepare yourself because we’re about to go for a ride featuring why we’re seeing more diversity, progress to be made, how we can contribute, numerous diverse novels, authors, and why-if you haven’t figured out already-I was so happy at my local Chapters book store. Buckle your seat belts and enjoy the ride roses, it may seem long but it’s fun and so, so worth it I’m going to start off with how in the past five years alone we have seen some pretty big leaps in the publishing world regarding diversity. Organizations like We Need Diverse Books and Diversity in YA have played a big role in this. While they push for the publishing of more diverse novels and helping POC/First Nations Peoples/LGBTQ2S+/Specially Abled authors get published. In 2016 alone there was a 28% jump in diverse books being published. It seems like a small number, but after 2+ decades of numbers remaining basically stagnant, a jump like this is pretty damn great. Now when you have not just a call for, but a need for, more diverse novels it’s usually the publishers who answer the call. In the words of everyone’s favourite friendly neighbourhood Spiderman “With great power comes great responsibility”. Publishers have the responsibility to not just publish novels featuring an array of characters, but to also give those who write these characters a voice. Now it’s giving people that voice, that tends to be the big problem, when it comes to diversity in the publishing world. A large majority of novels that are published are written by a white author. As you read earlier in the blog the examples from my childhood were novels featuring a POC protagonist but written by white women. Now this is where problems start. I am not saying at all that characters which represent POC/First Nations Peoples/LGBTQ2S+/Specially Abled and are written by white authors are wrong. No, in fact this should be encouraged. The problem starts when authenticity is lost. The authenticity that a POC/First Nations Peoples/LGBTQ2S+/Specially Abled bring with them when they write. The voice that truly speaks about the struggles they face in this world today (contemporary novels), and the building of entire worlds based on these struggles (fantasy novels), and so much more. When these writers are unable to put their voice out there, and are instead replaced by their fellow white authors, we the people lose a lot. We lose the chance to see ourselves. We lose the chance at seeing our stories told by those who have lived them along with us. When we lose that voice we lose a lot more than just the story told, we lose the chance to be seen, and more importantly to be heard. So while we have made some amazing progress in the past few years, we still have so much more to do. You may be wondering now, what can you do? You reading this post at home, work, school, or from wherever else. Well let me tell you:
These are only a couple of things you can do. Keep your eyes peeled out for these stories, for these authors, and do your own research. Look at the news, check your privilege, and if you have an idea for a story then get on it! In the words of the amazing Greta Gerwig “We need your story. I need your story.” A More Diverse Adolescence Growing up with no brown, intelligent, strong, female protagonists was a bummer. I often think about how different my childhood would have been, had I had these role models. I mean I watched Wonder Woman once and felt like I could fight 10,000 men at the same time. Can you imagine the impact if a brown hero like Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel), or America Chavez a Latin-American LGBTQ2S+ hero (Miss America) was given her own movie. Now in early adulthood I’m hoping to help change that for my young niece, and millions of other young females/non-binary people around the world. When I went to Chapters that day I had a single goal in mind: to get one of my favourite authors, Roshani Chokshi’s newest novel, Aru Shah And The End Of Time. Roshani Chokshi is an Indian-Filipino-American author. She has mainly written YA literature and this is her first foray into middle school literature; presented by none other than the Rick Riordan. She is one of many new authors who have upped the game. Her previous novels portraying fierce, proud, and brown female protagonists were just some of several which have in recent years given me the female heroes I have craved for so long. The best part about this though? Right near Aru Shah was The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani Dasgupta. Another novel written by an Indian-American author. After reading everything above you can imagine my excitement at seeing these two novels side-by-side. Then the young South Asian girl and her mother went right where those books were, and my heart swelled. Knowing that authors like Roshani Chokshi, Sayantani Dasgupta, Tomi Adeyemi, Sabaa Tahir, Sandhya Menon, Victoria Aveyard, Tanaz Bhathena, Renee Ahdieh, Adam Silvera, Becky Albertalli, Angie Thomas, and so many more are putting novels out there; knowing they are putting the voices of POC/LGBTQ2S+/First Nations Peoples (who still need a lot more representation) well it makes the future 10 million times brighter. When I walk into a book store now and see shelves filled with authors who are representing so many different people and areas I am filled with joy. Filled with joy at the thought that thousands of young people (and yes even those of you who are over 23) will grow up seeing themselves. Reading about worlds based off their own cultures and traditions. Knowing that they will not have to grow up changing a characters colour/name so they have someone they can imagine themselves as. Knowing my nieces and nephews will grow up going into a Chapters and will be able to pick up a book and see a character has an Indian name, or that it is a LGBTQ2S+ character, or whatever it is; but knowing they will be able to identify with a character and use that to give them courage is a beautiful feeling. So please encourage and pressure publishers into giving a voice to those who are underrepresented, those who need a voice, and those who deserve a voice. Support authors of colour/First Nations Peoples/LGBTQ2S+/Specially Abled authors, and all others who write about those not typically seen or heard of in novels. If you have any thoughts regarding this post please reach out to me via email at: realrebelroses@gmail.com or by social media: Instagram: @realrebelroses/@sukhmanipurewal, LinkedIn: @RebelRoses/@Sukhmani Purewal, Pinterest:@realrebelroses/@sp142011, Facebook: @RebelRoses, and Twitter: @realrebelroses. Thank you for sticking through this post! I hope for those of you whose eyes were closed, they are now open, and for those whose eyes were already open I hope you found another friend and activist in me. Have a fabulous weekend, and I’ll see you with a brand new post in a little bit! *This post was written by me not just as a member of RebelRoses but as young woman who has seen this topic rise time and time again and needed to put this out there* Some links for more information: http://blog.leeandlow.com/2017/03/30/the-diversity-gap-in-childrens-book-publishing-2017/ http://www.theradicalnotion.com/diversity-young-adult-literature/ https://www.bustle.com/p/17-ya-books-by-authors-of-color-to-look-out-for-in-the-first-half-of-2018-2943267 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/teen/meet-the-lgbtq-authors-who-are-revolutionizing-ya-literature/ Signed, Sukhmani Co-Founder-RebelRoses
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AuthorWe have four great writers on this team. We take turns posting great content. Each of us has our own writing styles and express ourselves differently. Come and take look into a whole new world. Welcome To The Rebel Rose's Blog Site! Archives
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