FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

We Need Diverse Books Announces the Winners of the 2019 WNDB Internship Grants

June 25, 2019

Bethesda, MD — We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) is pleased to announce the 2019 recipients of the WNDB Internship Grant, a $2,500 grant to support interns during their internship with a publishing house or literary agency. In addition to the $2,500 grant, each intern will receive a two-month public transportation stipend. 

The following individuals have been selected for the 2019 WNDB Internship Grants:

Savannah Bowen – Serendipity Literary Agency	Mikayla Lawrence – HarperCollins/Greenwillow Books
Analia Cabello – Candlewick Press	Samantha Leong – Simon & Schuster
Tiana Coven – Barry Goldblatt Literary	Shanese Mullins – Hachette/Little, Brown Books Young Readers
Leigh Higgins – Scholastic Book Fairs	Connor O’Brien – Writers House
Kristen Joseph – Lee and Low Books	Kilson Roque – Simon & Schuster
Frankie Knuckles – Candlewick Press

Linda Sue Park, Honorary Chair of the WNDB Internship Grants Committee, said, “This year we awarded grants to eleven interns, whom we hope will follow the lead set by most of our previous grantees by going on to careers in the children’s book world. We’re grateful to the publishers and agencies who work with us, and we would also like to thank our supporters. Their generosity allows us to help move the publishing industry toward better serving all young readers.”

During the program’s first four years, WNDB Internship Grants were awarded to 33 interns. Twenty-two interns supported by WNDB have gone on to full-time work in the publishing industry.  

Many thanks to the LJTJ Family Fund for their annual gift of five grants and the Macfarlane Foundation for their donation of five grants this year. We’re also grateful to Macmillan Publishing whose donation in memory of Senior Production Editor Donna Cherry honors her passion for diversity and inclusion throughout the publishing industry. 

For more information, please contact: 

Jennifer Mann, Director of the WNDB Internship Grant Committee, at jennifermann@wndb.local. 

About We Need Diverse Books. We Need Diverse Books is a grassroots organization of children’s book lovers that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people. It is our mission to put more books featuring diverse characters in the hands of all children. You can learn more about WNDB programs at www.wndb.local.

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Press Contact: Alaina Leary, alainaleary@wndb.local