CCBC-Net Archives
Re: A "no cost" way to support diversity at ALA, IRA and other conferences
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From: Rosanne Parry <rosanneparry_at_comcast.net>
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2014 23:02:17 -0800
I love Christine's suggestions here. I think publishers would like to do better and if they see a demand regularly from a wide variety of sources, not just librarians and teachers of color, they will be more likely to change.
I am particularly fond of suggestion #3. I think it's worth bearing in mind that most authors at a conference on there on their own dime. Unless you've won an award or sold a boatload of books, the publishers won't bring you. The downside of course is the cost but the upside for the author is that if your publisher didn't pay they don't get to tell you what to do with your time. So I don't have to go to dinner with their selected roster of guests, I can sit in a cafe with a group of teachers who will tell me something completely different about the needs of their students. Instead of doing a school visit at the well-connected school my publisher sets me up with, I can do an author visit in a youth prison or in the lowest income school in town. No book sales to be made there but also no pressure to meet a particular sales target. (I have never envied my stronger selling colleagues because I know how intense the pressure is to earn back what they've invested in publicity and big print runs) I'm grateful for the times my publisher has sponsored my travel. They do wonderful events and I think I've met some of the people on this list because of those events. But the reason to go to a conference independently is to make connections with my fellow book people. So please, do stop by and have a conversation. Book people with a passion for serving children are the reason I'm in this business at all.
I would add one more thing to Christine's list
Support Libraries. Insist on full time teacher librarians in your school districts. Get out the vote for library levies. Most multicultural titles, especially the culturally specific ones are bought by libraries. One reason for the decline in sales for these books is the declining numbers of librarians with a budget to buy books.
Rosanne Parry
Written in Stone, 2013 Second Fiddle, 2011 Heart of a Shepherd, 2009 www.rosanneparry.com On Feb 5, 2014, at 11:30 AM, Christine Taylor-Butler wrote:
> This would go a long way to acknowledge the authors of color who are present at IRA, BEA and ALA but go unnoticed.
>
> !. Ask "Where's the Beef?"
>
> 2, Ask "Where's the Talent?"
>
> 3. Stop and Make Eye Contact with an Author or Illustrator of Color who is not well known:
>
> 4. Don't immediately dismiss booths by those who are not published commercially. For many, even those with MFA's and/or professional Art training, the barriers to entry are still high and a there are some gems hidden in those piles.
>
>
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2014 23:02:17 -0800
I love Christine's suggestions here. I think publishers would like to do better and if they see a demand regularly from a wide variety of sources, not just librarians and teachers of color, they will be more likely to change.
I am particularly fond of suggestion #3. I think it's worth bearing in mind that most authors at a conference on there on their own dime. Unless you've won an award or sold a boatload of books, the publishers won't bring you. The downside of course is the cost but the upside for the author is that if your publisher didn't pay they don't get to tell you what to do with your time. So I don't have to go to dinner with their selected roster of guests, I can sit in a cafe with a group of teachers who will tell me something completely different about the needs of their students. Instead of doing a school visit at the well-connected school my publisher sets me up with, I can do an author visit in a youth prison or in the lowest income school in town. No book sales to be made there but also no pressure to meet a particular sales target. (I have never envied my stronger selling colleagues because I know how intense the pressure is to earn back what they've invested in publicity and big print runs) I'm grateful for the times my publisher has sponsored my travel. They do wonderful events and I think I've met some of the people on this list because of those events. But the reason to go to a conference independently is to make connections with my fellow book people. So please, do stop by and have a conversation. Book people with a passion for serving children are the reason I'm in this business at all.
I would add one more thing to Christine's list
Support Libraries. Insist on full time teacher librarians in your school districts. Get out the vote for library levies. Most multicultural titles, especially the culturally specific ones are bought by libraries. One reason for the decline in sales for these books is the declining numbers of librarians with a budget to buy books.
Rosanne Parry
Written in Stone, 2013 Second Fiddle, 2011 Heart of a Shepherd, 2009 www.rosanneparry.com On Feb 5, 2014, at 11:30 AM, Christine Taylor-Butler wrote:
> This would go a long way to acknowledge the authors of color who are present at IRA, BEA and ALA but go unnoticed.
>
> !. Ask "Where's the Beef?"
>
> 2, Ask "Where's the Talent?"
>
> 3. Stop and Make Eye Contact with an Author or Illustrator of Color who is not well known:
>
> 4. Don't immediately dismiss booths by those who are not published commercially. For many, even those with MFA's and/or professional Art training, the barriers to entry are still high and a there are some gems hidden in those piles.
>
>
---
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Received on Thu 06 Feb 2014 01:12:04 AM CST
