Check out our Google calendar for upcoming events on and off the blog as well as read a little bit about past events we've held since our January 2012 Kick-Off.
CBC Diversity Presents Initiative to Librarians at ALA Midwinter
Amongst the brewing excitement induced by the prospect of finally learning the winners and honorees of the 2013 ALA Youth Media Awards, Alvina Ling (current chair of the CBC Diversity Committee), Ayanna Coleman (CBC Diversity Committee Liaison), and Caroline Ward (Coordinator of Youth Services at the Ferguson Library) took their seats on the very first CBC Diversity Discussion Panel held January 27th, 2013 at 3PM in Seattle, Washington.
One of the goals of CBC Diversity is to educate those within and outside of the publishing industry. The purpose of this panel was to explain the CBC Diversity Initiative to librarians and to highlight the resources the Initiative offers. These resources are aimed to help them more easily find books currently on the market that relate to the various children in their lives and services to help encourage those who wish to write, to write respectfully, inclusively, and in an informed manner.
The panel had well over 75 attendees, including librarians, teachers, agents, and publishing house staffers. The overall tone of the panel was hopeful and appreciative, but it was not missed that librarians feel publishers have a lot of work to do in terms of publishing diverse books. Topics included the realities of running a business--the need to show that there is a market for diverse books by buying those books, discoverability challenges for diverse books, appreciating the broad spectrum of people the term "diversity" applies to, the need for more resources for young writers, and the wish for more programs like this one to bring the different groups involved in the promotion of kid lit together to continue to bring about progress. Listen to the full panel discussion here.
One of the goals of CBC Diversity is to educate those within and outside of the publishing industry. The purpose of this panel was to explain the CBC Diversity Initiative to librarians and to highlight the resources the Initiative offers. These resources are aimed to help them more easily find books currently on the market that relate to the various children in their lives and services to help encourage those who wish to write, to write respectfully, inclusively, and in an informed manner.
The panel had well over 75 attendees, including librarians, teachers, agents, and publishing house staffers. The overall tone of the panel was hopeful and appreciative, but it was not missed that librarians feel publishers have a lot of work to do in terms of publishing diverse books. Topics included the realities of running a business--the need to show that there is a market for diverse books by buying those books, discoverability challenges for diverse books, appreciating the broad spectrum of people the term "diversity" applies to, the need for more resources for young writers, and the wish for more programs like this one to bring the different groups involved in the promotion of kid lit together to continue to bring about progress. Listen to the full panel discussion here.
CBC Diversity Committee Hosts a Panel to Discuss Children's and YA Book Covers
On September 25, CBC Diversity hosted a panel featuring all of the bloggers who contributed entries to the “It’s Complicated! – Book Covers” blog series:
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| From left to right, panelists noted below. |
- Joseph Monti, Agent at Barry Goldblatt Literary and former B&N Bookseller
- Coe Booth, Author
- Laurent Linn, Art Director at Simon & Schuster Children's
- Felicia Frazier, Senior VP and Director of Sales at Penguin Young Readers Group
- Elizabeth Bluemle, Owner of Flying Pig Bookstore
The lunchtime event, moderated by Alvina Ling, CBC Diversity vice-chair and Executive Editorial Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, continued the conversation begun online, addressing the challenges the panelists have faced and successes they've had in selling/designing/writing books portraying diverse characters on the
cover.
Safe Haven Provides Supportive Environment for Publishing Staffers to Discuss Obstacles to Diversity
Last month, CBC Diversity launched "It's Complicated!", a blog series focusing on the challenges in promoting diversity in children's books. The week-long dialogue began on May 21st and included posts & comments from a variety of voices from the industry and beyond.
To further the discussion among publishing professionals offline, the Committee held their first Safe Haven event at the CBC Thursday, June 7th. CBC Diversity Safe Havens bring together intimate groups of children's book publishing staffers to speak candidly about diversity and problem-solve collaboratively in a supportive environment. Topics addressed at last week's event included: the power of reviewers, searching out authentic sources to establish an authors' credibility, and diversity in book covers.
If you are interested in participating in the next CBC Diversity Safe Haven, tentatively scheduled for the fall, please e-mail cbcdiversity@cbcbooks.org to be placed on the waiting list.
To further the discussion among publishing professionals offline, the Committee held their first Safe Haven event at the CBC Thursday, June 7th. CBC Diversity Safe Havens bring together intimate groups of children's book publishing staffers to speak candidly about diversity and problem-solve collaboratively in a supportive environment. Topics addressed at last week's event included: the power of reviewers, searching out authentic sources to establish an authors' credibility, and diversity in book covers.
If you are interested in participating in the next CBC Diversity Safe Haven, tentatively scheduled for the fall, please e-mail cbcdiversity@cbcbooks.org to be placed on the waiting list.
CBC Diversity Committee Performs School Visits
CBC Diversity Committee Kick-Off Cocktail
On January 31st, the CBC launched its Diversity Committee! The evening included a discussion of the initiative, including personal stories from the founding members of the Committee, and a call to action for all attendees to keep the diversity conversation ever-present in the industry. Check out more pictures on the Children's Book Council Facebook page within the CBC Diversity Kick-Off album.
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| Alvina Ling, CBC Diversity Committee Vice-Chair |
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| A rapt audience listening to the personal stories of committee members |
