FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

We Need Diverse Books Announces the Opening of Applications for the 2022 WNDB Internship Grants

March 1, 2022

New York, NY — We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) has announced the opening of the application process for the 2022 WNDB Internship Grants. The Internship Grant program has supported over 80 grantees in their summer internships. While many of our most recent 2021 cohort are still completing their studies, an incredible 70 percent of our grantees have gone on to work in the industry (with many already acquiring books of their own).

In its eighth program year, WNDB will continue to award grants to diverse interns in adult publishing (up to twelve $3000 grants) as well as children’s publishing (up to twelve $3000 grants).

According to the 2019 Publishers Weekly Salary Survey and Lee & Low Books’ Diversity Baseline Survey, the publishing industry is still predominantly white. An internship is an important gateway to positions at publishing houses and agencies, but the expense of living in large metropolitan areas where most of the publishing industry is centered can be a barrier to many well-qualified candidates. The WNDB Internship Grants support those who might otherwise not be able to accept a position in publishing.

“The program continues to grow in response to the needs of both the interns and the industry,” said Linda Sue Park, Honorary Chair of the WNDB Children’s Internship Grant Committee. “We’re thrilled that more than 70 percent of our interns go on to full-time jobs in publishing, and we now have a robust alumnx strand to support them. Encouraging and retaining those publishing employees from marginalized backgrounds so they can rise through the ranks is a vital step in producing books that better serve all young readers.”

“If the events of the past year have shown us anything, it’s that there is much more work to be done to bolster inclusion and allow underrepresented voices to be heard,” said Celeste Ng, Honorary Chair of the WNDB Adult Internship Grant Committee. “I’m so happy that WNDB’s internship program will support more adult interns than ever this year, making it easier for candidates from diverse backgrounds to enter the publishing ecosystem and help change it for the better.”

WNDB warmly thanks the following donors for their generous support of the 2022 Internship Grants: Beacon Press, The Estée Lauder Companies, Chronicle Books, Federal Farm Credit Banks, IBPA, Laurie Abkemeier, and Celeste Ng. 

About We Need Diverse Books: We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) is a 501(c)(3) organization established in 2014 to address the lack of diverse representation in the children’s publishing industry. The WNDB Internship Grant is one of many initiatives funded or supported by WNDB. More about the organization is available here. More information about the WNDB Internship Grant Program is available here.

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Press Contacts:

Alaina Lavoie, Program Manager, alainalavoie@diversebooks.org

Kandace Coston, Chair of WNDB Children’s Internship Grant Committee, kandacecoston@diversebooks.org  

Jafreen Uddin, Chair of WNDB Adult Internship Grant Committee, jafreen@diversebooks.org