I read a blog tonight about the PoC challenge and I wanted to address the issues brought up. To see the post I read head on over to http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2010/01/about-poc-challenge.html and read the blog. There is a lot of great information there check it out!
I think it has been mentioned here that this is a work in progress. I know it has been mentioned loads of times that we want you to suggest books, and authors, and relevant blogs for us to link to. When that happens we here always put up the links.
I wanted to celebrate and highlight PoC literature, just so that publishers would see that we are willing to read books with covers that feature people who are not Caucasian. This includes authors who are black, Asian, Native American, of any culture. This includes Caucasian authors who write their protagonists with color. This is to celebrate harmony and culture not to offend.
The word 'challenge' is used for these types of activities. No it is a not a challenge to read PoC books, but its fun to all do it together and show people that we are willing to do so. Prizes are always available during these events.
Your blog was not on the list because I didn't know it existed. Why not reach out to us here and ask to be added and provide some titles of the books you want us to read?
This is to raise awareness. Not cause more controversy. I am really sorry you feel that way but I would like to see you read more of what goes on here before posting. There are several things wrong in the post. The use of the word challenge, the prizes, no one said read brown, it's not even all about brown. It's about every culture, it is about celebration and hope that by buying these books and reading them we can glean some understanding and have the publisher glean some information.
I hope this clears up the problems you had with this blog. In the future I would love for you to come to us here with your issues and I promise we will try our best to accommodate anything. It is a work in progress and I would kindly add blogs and books and authors you suggest, I just wish you could have given us here the chance to do that to begin with.
I also cannot say I speak for the other two who are involved with this event.
Thank you,
Pam
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
We Have Prizes!
Hello all! My name is Ari and my blog is Reading in Color. I'm really excited to be helping Pam and Katy with this challenge. Good news, we have prizes! Prizes will be awarded monthly and at the end of the challenge. Prizes will consist of books, bookstore giftcards and swag! Thank you to everyone who is donating prizes, you guys rock!
1. Each month a reviewer will randomly be picked from the list of POC reviews that have been linked to.
2. A prize to anyone who reviews more than the challenge level they signed up for.
3. An prize to anyone who overall reviews the most books in their category and in the challenge.
4. A prize to someone who comments the most on other POC reviews in this challenge, once a month and overall.
I'll be doing a post of all the prizes soon and this post may be edited. Thank you all for doing this challenge! I ask that if you are participating in this challenge, you follow the blog and leave a link at the sign-up post. There are a lot more comments than sign-ups and followers and that makes things a bit confusing.
1. Each month a reviewer will randomly be picked from the list of POC reviews that have been linked to.
2. A prize to anyone who reviews more than the challenge level they signed up for.
3. An prize to anyone who overall reviews the most books in their category and in the challenge.
4. A prize to someone who comments the most on other POC reviews in this challenge, once a month and overall.
I'll be doing a post of all the prizes soon and this post may be edited. Thank you all for doing this challenge! I ask that if you are participating in this challenge, you follow the blog and leave a link at the sign-up post. There are a lot more comments than sign-ups and followers and that makes things a bit confusing.
Friday, January 22, 2010
January Review Link-Up
Hi! This is Katy (I blog at A Few More Pages) - I'm helping Pam with the POC Challenge site. We needed a Review Link-up post for all of the great books you are reading in this challenge, so here it is! We are so looking forward to reading your reviews!
(Edited to add: With Ari's awesomeness in organizing the monthly contests for the challenge, we're changing this to be the link-up for January reviews, and we'll be posting a new link-up every month.)
Click on the blue "Add Your Link" button and put the name and author of the book in the "Name" box. You can include your name or blog name in parenthesis if you wish. Please be sure that you link to the specific URL address of your review, not the URL address of your main/home blog page.
(Edited to add: With Ari's awesomeness in organizing the monthly contests for the challenge, we're changing this to be the link-up for January reviews, and we'll be posting a new link-up every month.)
Click on the blue "Add Your Link" button and put the name and author of the book in the "Name" box. You can include your name or blog name in parenthesis if you wish. Please be sure that you link to the specific URL address of your review, not the URL address of your main/home blog page.
January POC Reading Challenge Review Links
(Collection closed)
Link tool by inlinkz.com
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Interview with Claudia Mair Burney
Thank you so much for doing this. I know it's a new blog but it was
needed. We are gaining momentum for this cause and I appreciate your
willingness to answer some of the hard questions.
I'm grateful to be here. Thank you for having me, Pam.
White wash is a strong term, Pam. LOL.
I can't speak for all of publishing, but I will tell you about some of the experiences I've had: books are a team effort, with writers, editors, copy editors, sales teams, marketing teams, and a whole bunch of other folks. And every publishing house I've worked with had a bottom line: they wanted to sell books, the more, the better. A few companies I wrote for had very few African American authors, and didn't particularly cater to a demographic that looks like me. When I signed on, these companies had to ask themselves how they could best serve me and the consumers who keep their lights on, who in many cases, may not have been people of color at all. Everybody says they want diversity, but frankly, nobody wants to invest in producing a great book, putting it on the bookstore shelves, and having White readers take one look at it--if it has an African American on the cover--and assume the book isn't for them. I've had people say that to me. "Oh, I didn't think that book was for me." Others said they didn't get the cultural references I wrote about, as if African Americans are foreigners! I mean, I've read French novels, Scottish ones. Those aren't my culture, but they were good stories. I learned from them about those cultures, and I found the universal in the specific. One woman told me that reading a sample chapter of one of my novels "wore her out." It would have been comical if it wasn't so sad. But I keep trying to make my writing as diverse as my life is. I've got a real multiculti tribe, and I like it that way. I also want to keep it that way, so I refuse to write just a "Black" book. But I am a Black woman, so I'll never deny that. It's all about being who I am, and saying, "Hey, let me tell you a story." And I don't care who's listening, especially if they're aching, hurting souls.
I've said before that Christian publishing seemed to be like a social system that still had a White's only and colored drinking fountain. Yet, we drink of the same, soul-quenching waters. But it isn't just Christian publishing that so divided. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that he was appalled that the most segregated hour in Christian America is Sunday morning at 11 a.m. So African Americans tend to go to church with other African Americans, and Whites with other Whites, and African American Christians tend to read African American books, and White Christians read books by White Christians. There are exceptions to this, thank God! And I'm one of them.
You'd be very limited in the books you buy! I think what is more helpful is buying books that tell stories that really are universal, even though they have people of color on the covers. Telling publishers you appreciate their choices is great, too. You can tell me you like the cover and, yeah, that's great, but when you tell my publisher, they pay attention, and doing that just may keep me working.
I believe in choosing your battles wisely, and knowing what field you'd be willing to die on. I'm too new in my career to be that difficult. If I'm not in the game at all, I'm not changing the face of it. Fortunately, some of the companies I worked for did that whole cover thing right! I never had to fight too hard. Almost all my covers have people of color on them. Again, I was fortunate. People fought those battles for me, and spared me the pain of having to deal with those matters directly.
Things really are changing. Stay the course, be who you are, and be that perfectly well, and be willing to love beyond your boundaries. That isn't easy, but you'll make the world a better place that way. If you are a writer, write big love, with people who are truly living Dr. King's dream: Black and White together. Everybody together, but be honest. You must be true to what your real story is. I don't put token characters in just to be multicultural. Stories must be truthful. Fiction is the lie that tells the truth. I believe that.
Thanks for having me, Pam. Your website rawks. Hard!
You can find Claudia Mair Burney's books here!
needed. We are gaining momentum for this cause and I appreciate your
willingness to answer some of the hard questions.
I'm grateful to be here. Thank you for having me, Pam.
Why do you think the major publishers white wash the covers?
White wash is a strong term, Pam. LOL.
I can't speak for all of publishing, but I will tell you about some of the experiences I've had: books are a team effort, with writers, editors, copy editors, sales teams, marketing teams, and a whole bunch of other folks. And every publishing house I've worked with had a bottom line: they wanted to sell books, the more, the better. A few companies I wrote for had very few African American authors, and didn't particularly cater to a demographic that looks like me. When I signed on, these companies had to ask themselves how they could best serve me and the consumers who keep their lights on, who in many cases, may not have been people of color at all. Everybody says they want diversity, but frankly, nobody wants to invest in producing a great book, putting it on the bookstore shelves, and having White readers take one look at it--if it has an African American on the cover--and assume the book isn't for them. I've had people say that to me. "Oh, I didn't think that book was for me." Others said they didn't get the cultural references I wrote about, as if African Americans are foreigners! I mean, I've read French novels, Scottish ones. Those aren't my culture, but they were good stories. I learned from them about those cultures, and I found the universal in the specific. One woman told me that reading a sample chapter of one of my novels "wore her out." It would have been comical if it wasn't so sad. But I keep trying to make my writing as diverse as my life is. I've got a real multiculti tribe, and I like it that way. I also want to keep it that way, so I refuse to write just a "Black" book. But I am a Black woman, so I'll never deny that. It's all about being who I am, and saying, "Hey, let me tell you a story." And I don't care who's listening, especially if they're aching, hurting souls.
I've said before that Christian publishing seemed to be like a social system that still had a White's only and colored drinking fountain. Yet, we drink of the same, soul-quenching waters. But it isn't just Christian publishing that so divided. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that he was appalled that the most segregated hour in Christian America is Sunday morning at 11 a.m. So African Americans tend to go to church with other African Americans, and Whites with other Whites, and African American Christians tend to read African American books, and White Christians read books by White Christians. There are exceptions to this, thank God! And I'm one of them.
The reasons I have heard are so archaic, what do you think it is going to
take to change their way of thinking?
Money makes the publishing world go 'round. When books with Black faces on the cover sell very well to the White majority, you'll see more of them. But that may be a long time coming. I mean, there's an African American section in the bookstore! Even bookstores are segregating us, but some people like it that way. And honestly, as opposed to not having any books written by people of color in the stores at all, I'll take it. But it's complicated. Oversimplifying this matter doesn't serve anyone.
Your covers are so beautiful and feature PoC images. Do you demand this
from your publisher or do they just get it?
My publishers have been very thoughtful, and brave. I don't think they'd have taken a chance on a hard to market writer like myself if they weren't. And they made difficult decisions. One company's marketing and sales team said, after going around and around on the matter, "If a person won't buy this book because an African American is on the cover, we don't want their business." But they didn't sell a lot of my books. And now they don't want my business. LOL. Publishing isn't black and white so much. It's green, and I don't mean earth friendly.
Boycotting publishers who white wash, helpful?
You'd be very limited in the books you buy! I think what is more helpful is buying books that tell stories that really are universal, even though they have people of color on the covers. Telling publishers you appreciate their choices is great, too. You can tell me you like the cover and, yeah, that's great, but when you tell my publisher, they pay attention, and doing that just may keep me working.
Can you tell us more about your books and characters?
I write Christian fiction mostly, and I've been fortunate enough to write stories featuring characters that are diverse. I was a bit of a surprise to some of my publisher's readers, and sometimes; I got in trouble about the honesty in my books. A lot! But I've been mostly well received, and was nominated for the top awards in Christian fiction my first big year out there. What you'll find in my books are people who struggle, and who possess tenuous, yet resilient faith. The common ground in my books are the wounds we bear, that are no respecter of skin color, or even religion.
As a writer how do you feel about when other authors fight for their
covers they are considered 'hard to handle, unpublish-able" and lose the
houses support for their book?
I believe in choosing your battles wisely, and knowing what field you'd be willing to die on. I'm too new in my career to be that difficult. If I'm not in the game at all, I'm not changing the face of it. Fortunately, some of the companies I worked for did that whole cover thing right! I never had to fight too hard. Almost all my covers have people of color on them. Again, I was fortunate. People fought those battles for me, and spared me the pain of having to deal with those matters directly.
Any other words of encouragement or advice?
Things really are changing. Stay the course, be who you are, and be that perfectly well, and be willing to love beyond your boundaries. That isn't easy, but you'll make the world a better place that way. If you are a writer, write big love, with people who are truly living Dr. King's dream: Black and White together. Everybody together, but be honest. You must be true to what your real story is. I don't put token characters in just to be multicultural. Stories must be truthful. Fiction is the lie that tells the truth. I believe that.
Thanks for having me, Pam. Your website rawks. Hard!
You can find Claudia Mair Burney's books here!
Interviews, posts, and more.
Just a few updates to keep the ball rolling here.
I interviewed Claudia Mair Burney on her publisher, covers, and what she thinks can be done. Hopefully that interview will be back here soon. I ordered her book Wounded yesterday.
The Color Online Blog has set up a Facebook page for those who wish to join in the boycott on Bloomsbury.
Black Teens Read Too have a wonderful post on their feelings behind the white washed covers and provide ideas on what you can do.
You can sign the I'll Buy the Book petition.
If I am missing anything please let me know. I will be updating the book list this weekend. If anyone wants to help maintain the blog please let me know!
I interviewed Claudia Mair Burney on her publisher, covers, and what she thinks can be done. Hopefully that interview will be back here soon. I ordered her book Wounded yesterday.
The Color Online Blog has set up a Facebook page for those who wish to join in the boycott on Bloomsbury.
Black Teens Read Too have a wonderful post on their feelings behind the white washed covers and provide ideas on what you can do.
You can sign the I'll Buy the Book petition.
If I am missing anything please let me know. I will be updating the book list this weekend. If anyone wants to help maintain the blog please let me know!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Let the reading commence
Come one come all to the POC Reading Challenge. This challenge was put in place to have myself and others read POC authors and books. There will be a master list to choose from, I am researching now and asking the experts for help in this. I would love for everyone who is participating to suggest a book or two in the comments for the master list if possible.
For this challenge all you need to do is grab the button from the side bar and add it to a post saying you are committed to reading POC authors and characters in this coming year. You do not have to pick your books now but you have to sign up to a level of how many you will read. Leave a comment to your post stating how many books you will read this year and tada automagically you are done.
Level 1: Read 1-3 POC books
Level 2. Read 4-6 POC books
Level 3. Read 7-9 POC books
Level 4. Read 10-15 POC books
Level 5. Read 16-25 POC books
Comments, suggestions, ways of making this better are greatly appreciated. Contributing posters for reviews, news, and book ideas are greatly appreciated.
**If you have a blog, you can sign up below, preferably including a link to your post about joining the challenge (and your book list if you put one together)! Don't forget to grab our button for your post!**
POC Challenge Sign-Ups
(Collection closed)
Link tool by inlinkz.com
POC Author and Book Suggestions, A-K
(This is a work-in-progress and we welcome your input. Not all of the authors' books are listed here--if you think something should be added, or if you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment!)
(MG=Middle Grade, YA=Young Adult, NF=Non-Fiction, CH=Children's)
Listed by Author: (click here for L-Z list)
A
Abi-Ezzi, Nathalie
Baldwin, James
Brown, Dee
Cameron, Ann
D
Danticat, Edwidge
Edwardson, Debby Dahl
Felin, M. Sindy
G
Gaines, Ernest
H
Hamilton, Virginia
Hill, Lawrence
Hurston, Zora Neale
I
Ilibagiza, Immaculee
J
Jacobs, Harriet (aka Linda Brent)
Kadohata, Cynthia
**Last updated: 2/8/2010
(MG=Middle Grade, YA=Young Adult, NF=Non-Fiction, CH=Children's)
Listed by Author: (click here for L-Z list)
A
Abi-Ezzi, Nathalie
A Girl Made of DustAchebe, Chinua
Things Fall ApartAbdel-Fattah, Randa
No Longer At Ease
Arrow of God
A Man of the People
Girls at War
Does My Head Look Big In This? (YA)Adams, J. (Jewel)
Ten Things I Hate About Me (YA)
Where the Streets Had a Name (YA)
The Journey (YA)Adams, Stacy Hawkins
The Jubilant Soul SeriesAdetunji, Tijuanna
Spirit and Soul Series
Dear Daughter SeriesAdichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
Purple HibiscusAdiga, Aravind
Half of a Yellow Sun
The Thing Around Your Neck
The White TigerAdina, Shelly
Between the Assassinations
All About Us series (YA)Agarwal, Shilpa
Haunting BombayAjmera, Maya
Faith (CH)Alexie, Sherman
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (YA)Allende, Isabel
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Flight
Reservation Blues
War Dances
Indian Killer
Paula (NF)Alvarez, Julia
The Sum of Our Days (NF)
My Invented Country (NF)
Portrait in Sepia
The Island Beneath the Sea
Inés of My Soul
The Infinite Plan
Of Love and Shadows
The House of the Spirits
Daughter of Fortune
City of Beasts (YA)
Kingdom of the Golden Dragon (YA)
Forest of Pygmies (YA)
Once Upon a Quinceañera: Coming of Age in the USA (NF)Anderson, Jessica Lee
Return to Sender (MG)
Finding Miracles (YA)
Before We Were Free (YA)
How the García Girls Lost Their Accents (YA)
In the Name of Salomé
In the Time of the Butterflies
Saving the World
Yo!
Border CrossingAnaya, Rudolfo
Bless Me UltimaAnderson, M.T.
Albuquerque
The Legend of La Llorona
Heart of Aztlan
Serafina's Stories
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation (YA)Angelou, Maya
I Know Why the Caged Bird SingsArmah, Ayi Kwei
Gather Together In My Name
Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas
The Heart of a Woman
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes
A Song Flung Up To Heaven
The HealersB
Osiris Rising
Two Thousand Seasons
Why Are We So Blest?
The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
Baldwin, James
Tell Me How Long the Train's Been GoneBambara, Toni Cade
Notes of a Native Son
Go Tell It On The Mountain
Down at the Cross
Another Country
Those Bones Are Not My ChildBanerjee, Anjali
The Salt Eaters
This Bridge Called My Back
Gorilla, My Love
Raymond's Run
Invisible LivesBantwal, Shobhan
Imaginary Men
Maya Running (MG)
The Forbidden DaughterBeals, Melba Patillo
The Sari Shop Widow
The Dowry Bride
Warriors Don't CryBelli, Gioconda
The Inhabited WomanBhagat, Chetan
Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand
The Scroll of Seduction
The Country Under My Skin
2 StatesBolaño, Roberto
One Night @ the Call Center
Five Point Someone
The 3 Mistakes of My Life
The Savage DetectivesBooth, Coe
By Night in Chile
The Romantic Dogs
The Skating Rink
Amulet
Distant Star
2666
Last Evenings on Earth
Kendra (YA)Brice, Carleen
Tyrell (YA)
Orange Mint and Honey
Children of the Waters
Walk Tall: Affirmations for People of Color
Brown, Dee
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (NF)Brown, Linda Beatrice
Black Angels (MG)Bruchac, Joseph
Rainbow 'Roun Mah Shoulder
Crossing Over Jordan
CodetalkerBudhos, Marina
March Toward the Thunder
(Complete list of works here)
Ask Me No Questions (YA)Burney, Claudia Mair
WoundedButler, Octavia E.
Murder, Mayhem, & a Fine Man
Death, Deceit & Some Smooth Jazz
Zora and Nicky
The Exorsistah
Exorsistah: X Returns
KindredC
Patternist series
Bloodchild and Other Stories
Lilith's Brood
Fledgling
Wild Seed
Cameron, Ann
Colibri (MG)Campbell, Maria
HalfbreedCarlson, Lori M.
People of the Buffalo
Little Badger and the Fire Spirit
The Book of Jessica
Stories of the Road Allowance People
Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States (anthology)Carpentier, Alejo
Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today (anthology)
The Sunday Tertulia
The Kingdom of This WorldCarvell, Marlene
The Lost Steps
War of Time
The Rite of Spring
Who Will Tell My Brother?Castillo, Ana
Sweetgrass Basket (MG)
SapogoniaCervantes, Jennifer
So Far From God
The Mixquiahuala Letters
The Guardians
Peel My Love Like An Onion
Loverboys
I Ask The Impossible
My Father Was A Toltec and Selected Poems
Tortilla Sun (MG)Cezair-Thompson, Margaret
The True History of ParadiseChadda, Sarwat
The Pirate's Daughter
Devil’s Kiss (YA)Chang, Jung
The Dark Goddess (YA)
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of ChinaCheva, Cherry
She's So Money (YA)Choi, Sook Nyul
Year of Impossible Goodbyes (MG)Cisneros, Sandra
Echoes of the White Giraffe (MG/YA)
Gathering of Pearls (YA)
The House on Mango StreetClarke, Austin
Caramelo
Woman Hollering Creek
The Polished HoeClarke, Breena
The Origin of Waves
The Question
The Survivors of the Crossing
The Meeting Point
River, Cross My HeartClifton, Lucille
Stand the Storm
Generations (NF)Compestine, Ying Chang
Everett Anderson’s Good-bye (CH)
The Book of Light
The Terrible Stories
Blessing The Boats: New and Collected Poems 1988-2000
An Ordinary Woman
Good Times
A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts (YA)Conde, Maryse
Revolution is Not a Dinner Party (MG/YA)
I, Tituba: Black Witch of SalemCrutcher, Chris
Tree of Life
The Last of the African Kings
Who Slashed Celanire's Throat?: A Fantastical Tale
Whale Talk (YA)Culleton, Beatrice
In Search of April RaintreeCurtis, Christopher Paul
In the Shadow of Evil
Spirit of the White Bison
The Watsons Go To Birmingham (MG)
Bud, Not Buddy (MG)
D
Danticat, Edwidge
Breath, Eyes, MemoryDaswani, Kavita
The Farming of Bones
The Dew Breaker
Brother, I'm Dying
Indie GirlDavis, Angela
Angela Davis: An AutobiographyDavis, Kyra
So Much for My Happy EndingDeedy, Carmen Agra
Sophie Katz Mystery Series
14 Cows (CH)de la Pena, Matt
Martina, The Beautiful Cockroach (CH)
Ball Don't Lie (YA)De la Cruz, Melissa
We Were Here (YA)
Mexican White Boy (YA)
Blue Bloods Series (YA)Diaz, Junot
Fresh Off the Boat (YA)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoDivakaruni, Chitra Banerjee
Drown
The Mistress of SpicesDivine, L.
Sister of My Heart
One Amazing Thing
Drama High seriesDolamore, Jaclyn
Magic Under Glass (YA)Douglass, Frederick
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (NF)Dove, Rita
My Bondage and My Freedom (NF)
Thomas and BeulahDowdy, Cecelia
American Smooth
Chesapeake WeddingsDraper, Sharon M.
First Mates
Copper Sun (YA)Du Bois, W.E.B
The Jericho Trilogy (YA)
Hazelwood Trilogy (YA)
Romiette and Julio (YA)
Double Dutch (YA)
The Souls of Black Folk (NF)Dungy, Camille T.
Black Reconstruction (NF)
Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry (anthology)E
Edwardson, Debby Dahl
Blessing's Bead (MG)Elkeles, Simone
Perfect Chemistry (YA)Elliott, Zetta
A Wish After Midnight (YA)Ellison, Ralph
Invisible ManEmecheta, Buchi
Shadow and Act
Going to the Territory
Second-Class CitizenEnglish, Karen
The Bride Price
The Slave Girl
The Joys of Motherhood
Francie (MG)Erdrich, Karen Louise
Love MedicineEsquivel, Laura
The Master Butchers Singing Club
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
The Plague of Doves
Tracks
The Beet Queen
The Bingo Palace
The Antelope Wife
Jacklight
Grandmother's Pigeon (CH)
The Birchbark House (CH)
The Range Eternal (CH)
The Game of Silence (CH)
The Porcupine Year (CH)
Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country (NF)
The Law of LoveF
Like Water for Chocolate
Malinche
Between the Fires
Felin, M. Sindy
Touching SnowFlake, Sharon G.
The Skin I'm In (MG)Ford, Aisha
Money Hungry (MG)
Begging for Change (MG)
Who Am I Without Him? (YA)
The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street (CH)
Flippin’ the ScriptFuentes, Carlos
Pride and Pumpernickel
The Wife Degree
Stacy’s Wedding
The Orange TreeFuller, David
Terra Nostra
The Death of Artemio Cruz
The Old Gringo
The Eagle's Throne
Sweetsmoke
G
Gaines, Ernest
A Gathering of Old MenGarcia, Cristina
A Lesson Before Dying
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
I Wanna Be Your Shoebox (MG)Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.
Dreaming in Cuban
The Aguero Sisters
Monkey Hunting
The Lady Matador's Hotel
A Handbook to Luck
America Behind the Color Line (NF)Ghosh, Amitav
The Signifying Monkey (NF)
The Trials of Phillis Wheatley (NF)
Colored People: A Memoir (NF)
The African American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Century (NF)
Sea of PoppiesGiovanni, Nikki
The Hungry Tide
The Imam and the Indian
The Glass Palace
The Calcutta Chromosome
The Circle of Reason
Black Feeling, Black TalkGlover, Bonnie
Black Judgement
Re: Creation
Sacred Cows ... And Other Edibles
Those Who Ride the Night Winds
Going Down SouthGonzalez, Christina Diaz
The Middle Sister
The Red Umbrella (YA)Gourevich, Philip
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families (NF)Griffith, Marilynn
Sassy Sistahood seriesGurnah, Abdulrazak
Rhythms of Grace
Songs of Deliverance
Mom’s the Word
Paradise
Desertion
By the Sea
H
Hamilton, Virginia
Bluish (CH)Hammad, Suheir
Cousins (CH)
M.C. Higgins, the Great (CH)
Zeely (CH)
The House of Dies Drear (CH)
Justice and Her Brothers (CH)
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales
Her Stories: African American Folk Tales, Fairy Tales and True Tales
A Ring of Tricksters
Breaking PoemsHansberry, Lorraine
A Raisin in the SunHarris, Eddy L.
To Be Young, Gifted, and Black
Les Blancs
South of Haunted DreamsHarris, Violet J.
Mississippi Solo
Native Stranger
Still Life in Harlem
Using Multiethnic Literature in the K-8 ClassroomHearn, Lian
Teaching Multiethnic Literature in the K-8 Classroom
Tales of the OtoriHegamin, Tonya C.
Pemba’s Song (with Marilyn Nelson) (MG)Hernandez, David
M+O 4EVR (YA)
No More Us For You (YA)Hijuelos, Oscar
Suckerpunch (YA)
Our House in the Last World
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love
The Fourteen Sisters of Emilio Montez O'Brien
Empress of the Splendid Season
Dark Dude
Hill, Lawrence
The Book of Negroes/Someone Knows My NameHosseini, Khaled
Any Known Blood
Some Great Thing
The Deserter's Tale (NF)
Black Berry, Sweet Juice (NF)
A Thousand Splendid SunsHouston, Jeanne Wakatsuki
The Kite Runner
Farewell to Manzanar (YA)Hughes, Langston
The Weary Blues
Not Without Laughter
The Ways of White Folks
The Big Sea
Fine Clothes to the Jew
The Negro Speaks of Rivers (CH)
Hurston, Zora Neale
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Tell My Horse
Every Tongue Got to Confess
Jonah's Gourd Vine
I
Ilibagiza, Immaculee
Left to TellIshiguro, Kazuo
Never Let Me Go
A Pale View of the Hills
Remains of the Day
An Artist of the Floating World
When We Were Orphans
J
Jacobs, Harriet (aka Linda Brent)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave GirlJal, Emmanuel
War Child: A Child Soldier's StoryJemisin, N.K.
The Hundred Thousand KingdomsJin, Ba
The FamilyJohnson, Angela
Living Amongst Heroes
Cold Nights
Ward Four: A Novel of Wartime China
The First Part Last (YA)Johnson, Varian
Heaven (MG)
My Life as a Rhombus (YA)Jones, Edward P.
Red Polka Dot in a World of Plaid (YA)
Saving Maddie (YA)
Lost in the CityJones, Tayari
The Known World
All Aunt Hagar's Children
Leaving AtlantaK
The Untelling
Kadohata, Cynthia
Kira-KiraKagawa, Julie
Weedflower
A Million Shades of Grey
The Iron KingKamkwamba, William
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (with Bryan Mealer) (NF)Kawabata, Yasunari
House of the Sleeping BeautiesKhan, Rukhsana
Beauty and Sadness
The Lake
Thousand Cranes
Snow Country
The Old Capital
Wanting MorKingston, Maxine Hong
The Woman WarriorKoomson, Dorothy
China Men
Tripmaster Monkey
The Cupid Effect
My Best Friend's Girl
Goodnight, Beautiful
The Ice Cream Girls
**Last updated: 2/8/2010
POC Author and Book Suggestions, L-Z
(This is a work-in-progress and we welcome your input. Not all of the authors' books are listed here--if you think something should be added, or if you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment!)
(MG=Middle Grade, YA=Young Adult, NF=Non-Fiction, CH=Children's)
Listed by Author: (click here for A-K list)
L
Lahiri, Jhumpa
Louis, Adrian C.
M
Magoon, Kekla
McMillan, Terry
N
Na, An
O
Oyeyemi, Helen
P
Pamuk, Orhan
Qamar, Amjed
R
Rai, Bali
S
Saenz, Benjamin Alire
T
Tademy, Lalita
V
Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa
W
Walker, Alice
X
Y
Yang, Gene Luen
Z
Zephaniah, Benjamin
**Last updated: 2/8/2010
(MG=Middle Grade, YA=Young Adult, NF=Non-Fiction, CH=Children's)
Listed by Author: (click here for A-K list)
L
Lahiri, Jhumpa
The NamesakeLarbalestier, Justine
Unaccustomed Earth
Maladies
Liar (YA)Lemus, Felicia Luna
Trace Elements of Random Tea PartiesLevine, James A.
Like Son
The Blue NotebookLevy, Andrea
The Long SongLin, Grace
Small Island
Never Far From Nowhere
Fruit of the Lemon
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (CH)Lin, Tao
Year of the Rat (CH)
Year of the Dog (CH)
you are a little bit happier than i amLo, Malinda
Eeeee Eee Eeee
Shoplifting From American Apparel
Ash (YA)Lockheart, E.
Dramarama (YA)Lopez, Diana
Confetti Girl (YA)Lorde, Audre
The Black Unicorn
A Burst of Light
The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde
Louis, Adrian C.
SkinsLyons, Kelly Starling
Logorrhea
Bone and Juice
Evil Corn
Wild Indians and Other Creatures
Ceremonies of the Damned
Among the Dog Eaters
Shedding Skins: Four Sioux Poets (ed.)
One Million Men and Me (CH)
NEATE: Eddie's Ordeal (CH)
M
Magoon, Kekla
The Rock and the River (YA/MG)Mandela, Nelson
Long Walk to FreedomManivong, Laura
Escaping the Tiger (MG)Marino, Peter
Magic or Misery (YA)Márquez, Gabriel García
Love in the Time of CholeraMarshall, Paule
Leaf Storm
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Autumn of the Patriarch
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Innocent Erendira
Praisesong for the WidowMartel, Yann
Brown Girl, Brownstones
The Chosen Place, the Timeless People
Life of PiMartin, S.I.
Beatrice and Virgil
Jupiter Williams (YA)Martinez, Tomas Eloy
Jupiter Amidships (YA)
Incomparable World
Santa EvitaMartinez, Victor
Flight of the Queen
The Passion According to Trelew
Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida (YA)Mathabane, Mark
Kaffir BoyMcBride, James
African Women
Miriam's Song
The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (NF)McCall, Guadalupe Garcia
Miracle at St. Anna
Song Yet Sung
Under the Mesquite (YA)McDonnell, Carole
A Mesquite in the Rose Garden (YA)
WindfollowerMcFadden, Bernice
SugarMcKissack, Patricia
Glorious
Nowhere is a Place
Camilla's Roses
Loving Donovan
This Bitter Earth
The Warmest December
Color Me Dark (MG)Mclaurin, Melton
Celia, A Slave (NF)
McMillan, Terry
Waiting to ExhaleMcNair, Wendy Raven
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Disappearing Acts
The Interruption of Everything
Breaking Ice
AwakeMealer, Bryan
Asleep
Giant Slayers
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (with William Kamkwamba)Meminger, Neesha
All Things Must Fight to Win
Shine, Coconut Moon (YA)Miller-Lachmann, Lyn
Gringolandia (YA)Montero, Mayra
The MessengerMoody, Anne
Deep Purple
The Last Night I Spent With You
The Red of His Shadow
Coming of Age in MississippiMosley, Walter
Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins Mystery)Morrison, Toni
Known to Evil
The Bluest EyeMurakami, Haruki
Beloved
Song of Solomon
Sula
Jazz
Love
A Mercy
After DarkMurray, Millie
Kafka on the Shore
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
After the Quake
Sputnik Sweetheart
South of the Border West of the Sun
Hear the Wind Sing
Lois (YA)Mussi, Sara
Kiesha (YA)
Jade (YA)
Sorelle (YA)
Cairo Hughes (YA)
The Last of the Warrior KingsMyers, Walter Dean
The Door of No Return
Monster (YA)
Scorpions (YA)
Dope Sick (YA)
Sunrise Over Fallujah (YA)
Amiri and Odette (YA)
Fallen Angels (YA)
Crystal (YA)
N
Na, An
The Fold (YA)Naipaul, V.S.
Wait For Me (YA)
A Step From Heaven (YA)
Half a LifeNational Museum of the American Indian
A House For Mr. Biwas
Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey (NF)
Guerillas
The Middle Passage (NF)
A Bend in the River
The Enigma of Arrival
Do All Indians Live in Tipis?Naylor, Gloria
Mama DayNelson, Marilyn
The Women of Brewster Place
Bailey's Cafe
1996
Pemba’s Song (with Tonya C. Hegamin) (YA)Nordwall, Adam Fortunate Eagle
Heart of the Rock: The Indian Invasion of Alcatraz (NF)North, Pearl
Pipestone: My Life in an Indian Boarding School (NF)
Lybrinth (YA)Northup, Solomon
Twelve Years a Slave (NF)
O
Oyeyemi, Helen
The Icarus Girl
The Opposite House
P
Pamuk, Orhan
SnowParedes, Americo
The Black Book
Cevdet Bey and His Sons
The Silent House
The White Castle
Istanbul: Memories and the City
George Washington GomezParkin, Gaile
With a Pistol in His Hand: A Border Ballad and Its Hero (NF)
Baking Cakes in KigaliParra, Kelly
Graffiti Girl (YA)Pellegrino, Marge
Invisible Touch (YA)
Journey of Dreams (MG)Perkins, Mitali
First Daughter Series (YA)Perkins-Valdez, Dolen
The Secret Keeper (YA)
Bamboo People (YA)
Monsoon Summer (YA)
WenchPerkovich, Olugbemisola Rhuday
8th Grade Superzero (MG)Pickering, Roy L., Jr.
Patches of Grey (YA)Piepzna-Samarasinha, Leah Lakshmi
Consensual GenocidePon, Cindy
Silver Phoenix (YA)Puig, Manuel
Kiss of the Spider WomanPullman, Philip
Betrayed by Rita Hayworth
The Broken BridgeQ
Qamar, Amjed
Beneath My Mother's Feet
R
Rai, Bali
What's Your Problem?Ramirez, Misa
(Un)arranged Marriage
City of Ghosts
Concrete Chips
Two Timer
Rani & Sukh
Living La Vida LolaRees, Celia
Hasta La Vista Lola
SorceressReeves, Dia
Bleeding Violet (YA)Resau, Laura
Red GlassRoby, Kimberla Lawson
The Indigo Notebook
The Best of EverythingRoy, Arundhati
Be Careful What You Pray For
One in a Million
A Deep Dark Secret
The God of Small ThingsRoy, Jacqueline
Fat Chance (MG)Rusesabagina, Paul
A Daughter Like Me (CH)
Playing It Cool (MG)
Soul Daddy (MG)
The Fat Lady Sings
An Ordinary Man (NF)Rushdie, Salman
The Ground Beneath Her FeetRyan, Pam Munoz
The Enchantress of Florence
Midnight's Children
Shalimar the Clown
Haroun and the Sea of Stories
The Satanic Verses
Shame
Esperanza Rising (YA)
S
Saenz, Benjamin Alire
Last Night I Sang to the MonsterSanchez, Alex
He Forgot to Say Goodbye
A Perfect Season for Dreaming (CH)
Carry Me Like Water
A Gift from Papa Diego (CH)
The House of Forgetting
Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood (YA)
The God BoxSapphire
Rainbow Boys Trilogy
Bait
PushSaramago, Jose
American Dreams
BlindnessSatrapi, Marjane
Seeing
The Cave
The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis
Death With Interruptions
PersepolisSchraff, Anne
Persepolis 2
Embroideries
Bluford High series (with Paul Langan) (YA)Seale, Doris
Urban Underground series (YA)
The Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children (ed, with Beverly Slapin)See, Lisa
Ghost Dance: New and Selected Poems
The Multicolored Mirror: Cultural Substance in Literature for Children and Young Adults
Snow Flower and the Secret FanSeierstad, Asne
Peony in Love
The Red Princess Mysteries
The Bookseller of KabulSelvon, Samuel
The Lonely LondonersSenzai, N.H.
A Brighter Sun
Moses Ascending
Shooting Kabul (MG)Seraji, Mahbod
Rooftops of TehranSetiawan, Erick
Of Bees and MistShah, Tahir
The Caliph’s HouseSheth, Kashmira
In Arabian Nights
In Search of King Solomon's Mines
Keeping CornerSitomer, Alan Lawrence
Boys Without Names
Monsoon Afternoon
The Hoopster (YA)Smith, Charles R., Jr.
Hip Hop High School (YA)
Homeboyz (YA)
The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez (YA)
Chameleon (YA)Smith, Cynthia Leitich
I Am America (CH)
Hoop Kings (CH)
Hoop Queens (CH)
Tall Tales (CH)
Eternal (YA)Smith, Zadie
Tantalize (YA)
Indian Shoes (CH)
Rain Is Not My Indian Name (MG)
Jingle Dancer (CH)
White TeethSoto, Gary
On Beauty
Buried Onions (YA)Stork, Francisco X.
The Afterlife (YA)
Jesse (YA)
Nickle and Dime (YA)
Marcelo in the Real World (YA)Strom, Kay Marshall
Last Summer of the Death Warriors (YA)
Behind the Eyes (YA)
The Way of the Jaguar (YA)
The Call of ZulinaSundaresan, Indu
In the Presence of the Poor: Changing the Face of India
The Feast of Roses
The Twentieth Wife
The Splendor of Silence
In the Convent of Little Flowers
T
Tademy, Lalita
Red RiverTakami, Koushun
Cane River
Battle RoyaleTan, Amy
Joy Luck ClubTan, Hwee Hwee
Kitchen God's Wife
Hundred Secret Senses
Bonesetter's Daughter
Opposite of Fate (NF)
Foreign BodiesTang, Camy
Mammon, Inc.
Deadly IntentTanizaki, Junichiro
Sushi Series
NaomiTaylor, Mildred D.
Quicksand
In Praise of Shadows
The Key and Diary of a Mad Old Man
The Makioka Sisters
Some Prefer Nettles
Roll of Thunder, Hear My CryThiong’o, Ngugi Wa
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
Weep Not, ChildTrethewey, Natasha
Wizard of the Crow
Petals of Blood
Native GuardTreuer, David
LittleU
The Translation of Dr. Apelles
The Hiawatha
Native American Fiction: A User's Manual
V
Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa
Haters (YA)Venkatraman, Padma
The Dirty Girls Social Club
Playing With Boys
Climbing the StairsVoorhees, Coert
The Brothers Torres (YA)
W
Walker, Alice
The Color PurpleWallach, Diana Rodriguez
Meridian
The Third Life of Grange Copeland
Possessing the Secret of Joy
Adios to All the Drama (YA)Washington, Booker T.
Amor and Summer Secrets (YA)
Amigas and School Scandals (YA)
Up From SlaveryWelch, James
Fool's CrowWesterfield, Scott
The Death of Jim Loney
Killing Custer: The Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians (NF)
Winter in the Blood
The Indian Lawyer
The Heartsong of Charging Elk
Last Stand at the Little Bighorn (poetry)
Extras (YA)Wheatley, Phyllis
Poems on Various SubjectsWheland, Gloria
Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley, a Native African and Slave
Homeless BirdWilliams, Tia
Chu Ju's House
The Listeners
It Chicks (YA)Williams-Garcia, Rita
Jumped (YA)Wilson, August
No Laughter Here (YA)
Every Time a Rainbow Dies (YA)
Like Sisters on the Homefront (YA)
Fast Talk on a Slow Track (YA)
One Crazy Summer (YA)
Blue Tights (YA)
The Piano Lesson (The Pittsburgh Cycle)Woodson, Jacqueline
Fences (The Pittsburgh Cycle)
Two Trains Running (The Pittsburgh Cycle)
If You Come Softly (YA)Wright, Richard
The Dear One (YA)
I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This (YA)
After Tupac and D. Foster (YA)
Native Son
Uncle Tom's Children
Black Boy
The Outsider
X
Y
Yang, Gene Luen
American Born Chinese (YA)Yee, Lisa
The Eternal Smile
Millicent Min, Girl Genius (MG)Yerby, Frank
Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time (MG)
Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) (MG)
Absolutely, Maybe (YA)
Fairoakes
An Odor of Sanctity
Goat Song
The Old Gods Laugh
Hail the Conquering Hero
A Darkness at Ingraham's Crest
The Dahomean
Z
Zephaniah, Benjamin
Face (YA)
Gansta Rap (YA)
Refugee Boy (YA)
**Last updated: 2/8/2010
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