Arianna, Arianna, if ONLY you were around when I was a teenager, who knows where I would be today.
And if you don’t subscribe to Arianna’s blog, you should. No excuses. She’s a maverick teen who is on a mission to educate the world about the multitude of authors of color out there. Her W.A.R. interview is here.
“Literature can be used to combat racism and promote tolerance simply by educating or informing. When writing a YA book about a teen who lives in another country or has a different culture, the author can share details about the culture/country and take a big step toward educating people, which helps stop racism. Racism after all is only ignorance.” Visit her blog, Reading In Color for staggering stats about authors of colors getting published, and read her high quality book reviews.
Q: On your blog, you strongly advise authors of color to develop an Internet presence. Could you explain why this is so important?
A: This is crucial! Authors of color are already at a disadvantage because editors/bookstores/whoever tend to dismiss our books merely as “ethnic” stories and forget about them. They think that they won’t sell. You MUST drum up support for your book; make it a highly anticipated release not only via word of mouth but through the Internet. (comes via Reading in Color about Diversity in YA Fiction)
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