General

Infographic: The Diversity Gap in the Emmys, 2015

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Not only are we living in a Golden Age of television, it also feels in many ways like we are living in a Golden Age of diverse television. While TV may still be more segregated than we’d like it to be, both in front of and behind the camera, 2014-2015 saw the emergence of several critically and commercially successful shows with lead characters of color.

A few years ago, we published an infographic and study exploring the diversity gap in the Emmys and on television. Today we’ve updated that infographic and tried to answer the question: Has the Diversity Gap in Television decreased? Continue reading →

Educator Resources

Character Day: Taking a Look at the Traits Needed to Do What’s Right

Character Day!Character Day is September 18! With the start of school, many educators and staff may already be teaching character education to foster a warm, productive classroom community. For others looking to spend a moment reflecting on the concept of character, we are highlighting books for teaching about justice and the traits needed in the long struggle for it.

We are highlighting books that will spark conversations centered on leadership, love, kindness, social responsibility, perseverance, fairness, and teamwork. Continue reading →

Interviews with Authors and Illustrators, New Voices/New Visions Award

New Voices Award Winners on Revising Your Story

New Voices Award sealThis year marks our sixteenth annual New Voices Award, Lee & Low’s writing contest for unpublished writers of color.

In this blog series, past New Voices winners gather to give advice for new writers. This month, we’re talking about one of the most important steps in writing a story: revision.

Continue reading →

Diversity, Race, and Representation

Get to Know this Year’s Emmy Nominees of Color and Female Nominees

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Television, like other media, has a terrible diversity problem, and unfortunately, that means that the primary award for television, the Emmys, aren’t usually very diverse. We looked at this reality a few years ago when we released this infographic examining  the diversity gap among Emmy Award winners: Continue reading →

Educator Resources, Holidays and Celebrations

Intergenerational Activities for Grandparents Day

Grandparents Day– September 13th– is a great reminder for us all to
show our grandparents how much we love and appreciate them (& their impressive ability to never run out of reasons to send a card). From their tremendous accomplishments and contributions to those warm and magical memories we have, finding a reason to #DoSomethingGrand in their honor is never that hard. Freshly baked cookies, anyone? Continue reading →

Awards, New Voices/New Visions Award

Final Call: Two Contests for Unpublished Writers of Color

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Are you an unpublished author of color who writes for young Juna's Jar cover imagereaders? If so, we encourage you to submit your manuscript to LEE & LOW’s annual writing contests. Our well-established contests
support new authors of color and highlight voices that remain underrepresented  in traditional publishing. Past winners include Ink and Ashes and Juna’s Jar. Continue reading →

General

Marketing 101: The Best Social Media Platforms For Authors

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This post is part of an ongoing series at The Open Book answering MARKETING 101: The Best Social Media for Authorsquestions about book marketing and publicity.

One of the questions I get most often from authors—both new and
experienced—is, “Which social media platforms do I have to be on?” There are a lot of ways to answer this question but I want to start by addressing the question itself, which is often phrased in exactly this way. The answer is: you don’t have to be on any social media platforms that you don’t want to be on. Social media can help you connect with new readers, raise your discoverability, and sell books, but it can also be a drain on your time, attention, and ideas. Social media is not for everybody, and not every platform is for every writer. So the first thing to do is let go of the guilt and pressure you feel to be on every social media platform that exists, posting content in real time. Almost no authors can pull this off and it’s not worth losing your sanity to attempt it. Continue reading →

Diversity, Race, and Representation

The Opposite of Colorblind: Why it’s essential to talk to children about race

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diversity102-logoIn this post, Tu Books Publisher Stacy Whitman discusses why avoiding discussions of race with young people can do more harm than good.

Many African American parents already know what “the talk” is. It’s Why It's Essential to Talk to Children About Racenot the talk that many white parents might expect—we’re not talking about the birds and the bees. No, this “talk” is the one where black parents have to sit with their children and discuss how they might be perceived by the world around them: particularly police, but also teachers, neighbors, and friends who are not from their racial background.

Though the burden often falls on parents of color alone to discuss these issues with their children, in reality all parents should address race with their kids in a conscious and meaningful way. Communities are also seeking ways to address interpersonal racial issues,
particularly in schools. Having the tools to know how to discuss racial matters is essential for children from all backgrounds.  Continue reading →