Don’t miss YA speculative fiction author Dia Reeves’ comments on Diversity in YA Fiction — to wit:
The reason I think there are so few of us is because, for black authors, if you want to be taken seriously, you gotta write issue novels. If you write a story about slavery or civil rights or being oppressed in the ghetto or (if you’re really daring) being oppressed in the suburbs, then people will love you and give you prestigious awards and breakdance when you walk down the street.
You know you want to go and read the rest.
If you missed Reeves’ interview on The Brown Bookshelf this month, the archives still stand. Check her out.
O, happy thought! The Half Continent remains. From the Monster-Blood blog:“there has been A LOT of good work going on for the next Half-Continent story (rather than the much anticipated Harlequin romance set in outback Australia… sorry about that folks, I know you were all longing for it so 🙂 – a synopsis written, various passages penned and muchas muchas muchas research and invention going on.”
Okay, actually? I wanna hear more about that Harlequin…
Meanwhile, UK author Malorie Blackman reads an excerpt from Boys Don’t Cry,, her latest, and answers young readers’ questions. The podcast is fifteen minutes long, but it flies past – I love her reading voice.
Thanks for pointing out the Dia Reeves link. I am so on the same page!