I wanted to do a round-up of resources for BIPOC/Minority pre-published KidLit authors and illustrators. It’s exciting that there are so many organizations, both new and long-established. Many of these organizations offer mentorship programs or programs to help get published.
If you are going to attend one, just one, children’s book conference, I would recommend Kweli. I attended an in-person conference and it was fabulous!
Resources for Pre-Published BIPOC/Minority KidLit Authors and Illustrators
Kweli: The Color of Children’s Literature Conference
Kweli has entered its second decade! Can you believe it? We continue to honor the legacy of Walter Dean Myers with a conference that celebrates and supports our unique voices, our nuanced stories, our truth. Our spring conference is an excellent opportunity for BIPOC writers and illustrators to learn, get inspired, and network with others in the industry.
The program runs in four tracks:
Publishing, Community & Culture—with panels on solidarity among creators of color, developing an authorial platform, and submissions.
Novels & Memoir —including workshops on the crafts of character, plotting, contemporary world-building, and fantasy world-building.
Picture Books and Nonfiction—where experts will offer insights into picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, and nonfiction.
Intensives—with in-depth sessions on craft and form for picture book authors and YA novelists.
Throughout the day, writers and artists will have the opportunity to get their work seen, considered, and critiqued by the many agents and editors attending the conference — a useful step for creators who want to develop their craft and make connections within the industry. Join us, and lift up underrepresented voices.
Queer KidLit
Pre-published LGBTQ+ writers of middle grade novels! Apply to the #QueerKidlit mentorship program: a free, 3-month mentorship with amazing middle grade authors. Apply here.
Las Musas
We are the first collective of women and non-binary (identifying on the female spectrum) Latinx middle-grade (MG), picture book (PB), chapter book, and young adult (YA) authors to come together in an effort to support and amplify each other’s debut or sophomore novels in US children’s literature.
The Latinx community is an incredibly vast and diverse group of people that includes Afro-Latinx, Indigenous Latinx, Asian Latinx, white Latinx, and any and all combinations of race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. Latinx is not tied to any specific race but is rather a classification term referring to people with cultural ties to Latin America. Las Musas represent Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay, just to name a few.
We are not one voice, but many.
They have a mentorship program.
Diverse Voices, Inc.
DiverseVoices, Inc. was established to empower and advocate for minority, underrepresented, and other marginalized groups of writers, illustrators, and other book creators. In furtherance of this goal, our mission is to support and increase the number of book creators in publishing who self-identify from marginalized communities. Through DiverseVoices, Inc., we aim to assist self-identifying marginalized book creators in the growth and development of their craft, educate them on the book publishing industry, and foster a community and network among them and publishing professionals.
Mentorship program here.
We Need Diverse Books
The Mentorship program aims to support writers and illustrators by pairing them with an experienced professional in the field. Our mentors work one-on-one with a mentee and their completed draft of a manuscript over the course of a year, offering advice to improve craft and to better understand the publishing industry.
KidLit in Color
@KidlitInColor
KidLit in Color is a group of traditionally published BIPOC creatives. We nurture one another, amplify diverse voices, and advocate for equitable representation in the industry.
Our work includes picture books, chapter books, and middle grade fiction and nonfiction.
#BlackCreatorsInKidLit
@BCinKidLit
Bridging the gap. Increasing Black representation in kid lit. A community of Black authors and illustrators. Run by @DeniseLit4Kids and @bernardkmensah.
Website is coming.
Asian Author Alliance
A group to celebrate Asian Kidlit and the diversity of stories that originate from the Asian Continent! We boost and support books by and for us! Website here.
Oyate
Oyate is pleased to provide resources that can help the Native peoples and the community at large. We strive to provide resources that teach respect for Native peoples and help parents and educators to provide their children with historically accurate, culturally appropriate information about Native peoples.
“Teaching Respect for Native Peoples” workshop
In this workshop, Oyate trainers guide participants through the murky world of “children’s books about Indians.” Using role-plays, improvisations, skits, readings, rewriting, group discussions, and group work, Native and non-Native participants together learn how to evaluate children’s material for honest portrayals of Indian peoples, and how to select and where to find authentic and respectful materials. Participants examine their own values and come to a greater understanding of how their behaviors influence children whose worldviews may be different from their own.
Diversity in KidLit Resources from KidLit 411.
p.s. Related posts:
Taking a Children’s Book Writing Class
My First Picture Book Submission: Sumo Joe! #AmWriting
Meeting My Editor for SUMO JOE
SUMO JOE Illustrator Nat Iwata
Sumo Joe makes Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year list!
Thank you everyone! SUMO JOE on 2nd printing!!!
Sumo Joe at Newton Family Fun Day 2021
Storytime at Aquent with Sumo Joe!
My Sumo Joe event with Historic Newton!
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My books:
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
