Tag Archives: authors of color

New Voices/New Visions Award, Publishing 101, Tu Books

New Visions Award FAQs

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New Visions Award sealThe New Visions Award is open to all authors of color who have not previously had a middle grade or young adult novel or graphic novel published. The winner receives a cash prize of $2000 and our standard publication contract, including our basic advance and royalties for a first writingtime author. An Honor winner will receive a cash prize of $1000.

In general, we are looking for novels and graphic novels for young readers that have a strong voice, a commercial hook with a strong institutional appeal, and an entrancing plot. Check out the archives of our webinar on preparing your manuscript for more specific information on what we’re looking for in the craft department. Here are answers to some of our most frequently asked questions: Continue reading →

Awards, Diversity, Diversity in YA, Diversity, Race, and Representation, New Voices/New Visions Award, Tu Books, Writer Resources

Authors of Color: Submit Your Manuscript to Our Writing Contests

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Summer is officially here, which means lots of warm weather, longer days, and receiving submissions for our New Voices and New Visions Awards! Our annual awards encourage writers of color to submit their work to a publisher that takes pride in nurturing new talent. As the number of diverse books increases, LEE & LOW BOOKS is dedicated to increasing the number of authors of color as well. Continue reading →

Diversity 102, Publishing 101, Race, The Diversity Gap

The Diversity Gap in Children’s Publishing, 2015

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This February, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) released its statistics on the number of children’s books by and about people of color published in 2014. The issue of diversity in children’s books received a record amount of media coverage last year, in large part due to the success of the We Need Diverse Books campaign. Many people were anxious to know if the yearly CCBC statistics would reflect momentum of the movement.

The biggest takeaway from the new statistics was positive: in 2014 the number of books by/about people of color jumped to 14% (up from 10% in 2013) of the 3,000 to 3,500 books the CCBC reviews each year. Though not as high as it should be, the number shows definite improvement.

But looking at this number alone doesn’t show the whole story. In 2012, we kicked off our infographic series with information about the diversity gap in children’s books. Here is the updated infographic, which reflects statistics through 2014: Continue reading →