Well, I seem to have found my cause in life...or at least my latest one!
As you all know, I think about books and writing a lot (what with having been a massive book-lover all my life – not to mention now having a job in a library!)
I also think about issues of diversity/representation/racism/sexism/equality-of-all-kinds a lot (what with, you know, existing as a human being in this particular world of ours).
I'd already been thinking about diversity in my reading; after
stereolightning took me to an panel discussion by the amazing folks at We Need Diverse Books (check them out, check them out, check them out!) I started thinking more about diversity in my writing, too. (That timely increase in awareness on my part is why the werewolf pack in "Raise Your Lantern High" includes characters from a wide variety of backgrounds, rather than just the same old generic-nonspecified-white-people-by-default that so much American/European writing unfortunately defaults to.)
As I've been reading book-buying catalogues for work (yes...my job is indeed awesome!) I've actually been pretty pleased/relieved to see that that state of the publishing industry seems to be doing pretty okay at this, at putting out books that represent a wide variety of characters and a wide variety of authors and a wide variety of backgrounds. That's really heartening! Obviously, this is one of those things where you can always be improving and striving to do better – and it benefits everybody when you do! – but the "powers that be" in publishing (at least for children's books and YA) do seem to have gotten the message about the crucial importance of all kids getting to see characters like them in the books they read, and that's huge.
Anyway, this month's Booklist catalogue featured an interview with three different authors on matters of "diverse books" – especially in the realm of writing YA fantasy. The whole thing's worth a read – it's not long – but here were a couple of my favorite bits:
Booklist: You all approach the genre in different ways, but it becomes a vehicle for, among other things, discussing a variety of multicultural issues. So why fantasy?
Daniel José Older (author of "Shadowshaper"): [...] Fantasy offers unique ways to think about race, power, and culture, because with fantasy we have a chance to dream up new rules, new arrangements, new forms of power, and also complicate and dramatize existing ones. I think it's important to allow literature to multitask. Our characters can confront racist microaggressions or police brutality and fight off evil zombie dudes, and they should, because one doesn't cancel out the other, and there's a truth in there that's important to acknowledge.
[me, starfishstar: I love this, because yes, not every book with a person of color character needs to be an "Issue Book." We also need books about characters who happen to be people of color, and also happen to do awesome, interesting things! And of course his point about fantasy being an ideal place to explore questions of race, power and culture makes me think of JKR, and how Harry Potter is a parable for bigotry and tolerance in the world. Sci fi and fantasy have long been the go-to places for exploring these sorts of questions.]
Booklist: It's been widely acknowledged that publishing needs more diversity, both in terms of characters and authors. At the same time, many writers are concerned about writing about cultures and experiences that aren't theirs. What are your thoughts on this issue?
Cynthia Letitch Smith (author of "Feral Pride"): I refuse to tell a teen that someone who, like them, is, say, Chinese American or Jewish or gay or living with OCD could not appear in my fictional worlds because I’m not a strong-enough writer to pull it off. That’s a fear-driven cop-out. At the same time, I’m not so overconfident that I’d plunge in before I’m ready. I respect that certain stories and insights will arise only through lived experience, and I’ll gladly step aside and signal boost those. It’s not an either-or debate.
Sabaa Tahir (author of "An Ember in the Ashes"): [...] One of the saddest things I have ever heard is that authors are too frightened to write diverse characters for fear of getting it “wrong.” Because when authors say that, they are telling every single kid who is underrepresented in books (and that’s a lot of kids) that their lives, experiences, and stories are not worth learning about and listening to. And that’s just shameful. Our readers deserve more effort and courage from us than that.
The whole interview is here: "Telling Better Stories: Writing Diverse YA Fantasy"
All of this makes me so happy to be a person thinking about books and writing at this particular moment in time! Hmmm, maybe I should indeed start thinking seriously about getting a library science degree. Specifically in children's literature, of course! :-)