With your funds, we will be able to:

• Diversify our classrooms: WNDB in the Classroom is an initiative that will bring the opportunity to explore a diverse author’s book to a different classroom every month of the school year. Our vision is that classrooms will share their discussion about each diverse book on the web, meeting with authors at the end of the month either in person or via Skype to talk about their reading experience. Our goal is to bring diverse authors into the classrooms of the students who need to see them the most.
• Support diverse authors: Through our Walter Dean Myers Award & Grant program, “The Walter” will recognize outstanding diverse contributions by authors in Young Adult and Middle Grade literature, and provide funds to help develop new diverse authors and artists.
• Promote diverse programming: WNDB will continue to have a presence at conferences and festivals across the country, aiming to foster positive, honest, and constructive discussions on diversity and show people that a diverse book is just a good book that any child can enjoy.

• Develop educational kits: In conjunction with School Library Journal and the American Booksellers Association, WNDB is creating educational kits to introduce teachers, librarians and booksellers to select diverse books.