#LitUp submissions are now open
LitUp is a writer’s fellowship for underrepresented and unpublished women storytellers. Reese’s Book Club, in partnership with WNDB, is offering five writers access to the money, marketing and mentorship needed to put their best work forward. Applications are open to diverse women writers. This includes women who are cisgender, transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer, and bigender.
If selected, you’ll participate in an all-expenses paid writers retreat and have the opportunity to workshop your manuscript with bestselling authors.
Apply now at reesesbookclub.com/LitUp. Submissions are open through May 31.
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Apply to the Native Children's and YA Writing Intensive
The 2022 Native Children's and YA Writing Intensive is open for applications through May 31, 2022. The Writing Intensive will take place from August 4-7, 2022, at the Writing Barn in Austin, Texas. The Intensive is designed for Native/Indigenous/First Nations writers who are looking to deepen their craft, receive manuscript feedback and career mentorship, learn from our faculty of authors and publishing professionals, and build a sense of writing community. Visit our website for more information.
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Congratulations to the 2022 Black Creatives mentees!
The 2022 mentees will work one-on-one with our all-star faculty of mentors as well as each other to hone their manuscripts and participate in virtual events to learn more about publishing. Read all about them here.
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The 2022 WNDB Internship Grant application is open through April 30
Are you from a diverse background and looking to work in either children's or adult publishing? In our eighth program year, we continue to offer $3,000 grants: 12 for children's-focused internships and 12 for our adult-focused internship grants!
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Join Rise Up: Retention Program for Diverse Mid-level Publishing Professionals
Are you a diverse mid-level publishing professional looking for community and support as you move through your career? In partnership with Beacon Press and Hachette Book Group, WNDB started Rise Up to provide resources and support to mid-level children's and adult publishing professionals (approx. 3-10 years of industry experience) as they navigate their career goals and incite long overdue systemic change in the publishing industry!
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Save the date: The 2022 Walter Awards will now be held on June 23, 2022, at 10:30 am ET!
Register now for the Walter Awards! The event will be livestreamed and tentatively held in person at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC. The two-part event opens with a symposium “Open Books, Open Minds,” which will highlight the recent bans and challenges on diverse books across the country, followed by the awards ceremony.
Learn more about the Walter Awards.
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Publishers: We are now accepting submissions for the 2023 Walter Awards!
The Walter Dean Myers Award, also known as “The Walter,” is named for prolific children’s and young adult author Walter Dean Myers (1937-2014). Myers was the third National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, appointed in 2012 by the Library of Congress. He was a champion of diversity in children’s books. The Walter Awards commemorate Myers’ memory and his literary legacy, as well as celebrate diversity in children’s literature. The submissions deadline for The 2023 Walter Dean Myers Awards consideration is November 15, 2022.
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Congratulations to Black Creatives Marketing Symposium member Nancy Johnson James
Black: The Many Colors of My World by Nancy Johnson James, illustrated by Constance Moore, is out on April 12!
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Applications for the Emergency Fund are open
We updated our eligibility criteria for the Emergency Fund so that more diverse creatives, publishing professionals—including freelancers and interns—can apply. We are now also accepting applications from K-12 educators!
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Have you witnessed the soft censorship of diverse books in your community?
WNDB is gathering information to learn where this censorship is happening, which books are being targeted, and how to best support educators affected. Replies can be anonymous.
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Support WNDB with our exclusive merch!
Want to support us and sport some cool swag? Check out everything that we have on sale at our Bonfire store! You can find exclusive WNDB merch, including T-shirts, tote bags, mugs, sweatshirts, and more, all while supporting our mission and highlighting the importance of diverse books.
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Programs and Social Media Coordinator, Shout Mouse Press (Washington, DC)
Content Coordinator, Little Free Library (St. Paul, MN)
Senior Marketing Specialist, Mayo Clinic Press (Remote)
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Are you a disabled publishing professional who would like to participate in an anonymous survey to help with research on barriers that disabled people in publishing face?
Rachel Done, a graduate student at Portland State University in the Book Publishing program, is looking for survey respondents for a final research paper. Rachel's research focuses on 1) The barriers to disabled workers in this space, 2) How intersectionality impacts disabled US publishing workers, and 3) How COVID-19 has impacted the accessibility of the publishing industry for disabled employees.
The identities of survey respondents will automatically be kept confidential during this process unless they choose to have their identities made public.
If you use a screen-reader and a PDF is more accessible to you, please email Rachel at rachdone@pdx.edu.
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Check out the Independent Book Publishers Association spring 2022 catalog! The IPBA is once again proud to partner with WNDB to help diversify the publishing industry by providing supplemental grants to interns from marginalized backgrounds. At 40 pages, this spring 2022 “Indie Titles for Your Consideration” catalog raised $1,600 on behalf of IBPA member publishers for WNDB’s Internship Grant Program.
Intern Grant Alumnx Allegra Martschenko is launching Paths in Publishing, a new mentorship program for folks looking to get into scholarly publishing.
Red Wine & Blue is celebrating diverse authors and stories with a National Read-In on Thursday, April 7, at 8 pm ET. Hear from WNDB team member I.W. Gregorio and WNDB 2016 Mentor Nikki Grimes during this national event. Register here.
Take a look at this new YA Disability Database, a curated list of YA books featuring disability representation. For the purposes of this database, disability includes, but is not limited to: Chronic illness, neurodivergence (including learning disabilities), mental health, Blindness/visual impairment, Deafness/Hard of Hearing, physical disabilities, and more.
The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, in partnership with the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi, has announced the winners of the 2022 Ezra Jack Keats Award. The 2022 Ezra Jack Keats Award winner for Writer is Paul Harbridge for Out Into the Big Wide Lake, illustrated by Josée Bisaillon (Tundra Books) and the 2022 Ezra Jack Keats Award winner for Illustrator is Gracey Zhang for Lala’s Words (Orchard Books).
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Do you want your job opening included in our email newsletter?
Please send an email to Senior Program Manager Elissa Petruzzi at elissapetruzzi@diversebooks.org with the name of the position, the salary range, and if applicable, the location, plus a link to where applicants can apply. Please include whether the position is remote (for now), in office, hybrid, or permanently remote. |
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