Are you writing a diverse book?
Here are some resources to help you write diversely:
The NaNoWriMo blog invited WNDB team members to write about diversity:
- Why Diversity Matters for Everyone, by Marieke Nijkamp
- Novels That Get Representation Right, by Aisha Saeed
- A Guide to Spotting and Growing Past Stereotypes, by Ellen Oh
- How to Prepare to Write a Diverse Book, by I.W. Gregorio







Opportunities for diverse authors:
- The Walter Award and Grant program - Annual awards and grants given by WNDB to diverse authors and illustrators
- The Children's Book Academy offers multiple scholarships to help bring more diversity of all kinds into the children's literature field and are currently offered to folks who identify as LBGQTI, having a disability, being a person of color, or being low income.
- Voices at VONA - "the only writers' conference in the country with a multi-genre focus on writers of color as students and teachers."
- SCBWI's Emerging Voices Award and Multi-Cultural Work-in-Progress Grants - Established to foster the emergence of diverse voices in children’s books
- Lee and Low New Voices Award - Annual award given to an unpublished author of color for a picture book manuscript. The winner receives a cash prize of $1000 and Lee & Low's standard publication contract.
- Tu Books New Visions Award - Annual award given to an unpublished author of color for a middle grade or young adult fantasy, science fiction, or mystery novel. The winner receives a cash prize of $1000 and Tu Books’ standard publication contract.
- Vermont College of Fine Art’s Angela Johnson Scholarship for New Students of Color or Ethnic Minority - Established by agent Barry Goldblatt
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Hamline University MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults - The Vaunda Micheaux Nelson scholarship provides $5,000 to a new or current student of color, annually. The Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors scholarship is a $1,000 biannual award for new students of color entering the program.
- The Art and Change grant - project-based grants of up to $2,500 to women and trans* artists in the Delaware Valley region to fund art for social change projects.
- The Scholastic Picture Book Award - A joint initiative between the National Book Development Council of Singapore and Scholastic Asia.
Sensitivity/authenticity reader services:
- Cultural Accuracy Reading from Kevin Anderson & Associates
Other helpful articles:
- CBC Diversity's Resources for Writers
- Mitali Perkins' checklist for authors writing about race
- The Conscious Style Guide
- The Editors of Color Database
- Malinda Lo's guide to avoiding LGBT stereotypes
- DiversifyYA - a collection of interviews and roundtables about all types of diversity
- Creative Writing Glossary
- The Writer's Online Toolkit - a compilation of writing advice, tools, events, and more for writers of all kinds (novelists, academics, freelancers, etc)