Winning the STEP scholarship to publish The Garden of Second Chances wasn’t just a personal milestone. My writing confidence was restored. No one wanted a story of incarcerated teens with a Mexican main character and teens who were mostly Black or Latinas, unless it was sensationalized like Orange is the New Black. As a writer of color, I know firsthand how many doors are still closed to us in publishing, and how much our stories are needed. That scholarship gave my work a chance to be seen. The book has won two awards and excellent reviews—proof that readers are hungry for stories from voices that haven’t always been heard.
DEI in publishing isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a responsibility. Representation matters not only for BIPOC writers but for readers of every background. This takes support from non-BIPOC readers—reading, reviewing, and recommending our books to friends, libraries, and schools. This helps shift the tide and make room for more stories like mine.
When you buy a book by a BIPOC author, you're helping to rewrite the narrative of who gets to tell stories and whose stories are seen as worth telling. PS: I have a second novel published, which also went on to be starred reviewed and win two other awards.
I appreciate the work you (Brooke) and your team do for STEP. I know there will be more award winners who publish and go on to write many more wonderful books. Thank you!
What's interesting is that I have been reading black and indigenous writers long before DEI. Not because they are black or indigenous, but because they are outstanding writers! Reading this post I reflected upon what/whom I read, and looked towards the pile of books beside my desk. A collection that is dominated by immigrant writers writing in their second, or third languages (Elif Shafak is just one example), Bernardine Evaristo, Teresse Marie Mailhot, Frederick Joseph, Ocean Vuong... My personal favourite writer (who I am honoured to call a friend and creative collaborator) is Aïcha Martine Thiam whose work I can't shut up about (yes, please do check her out!). I'm not even making an effort here. I truly believe that there is room for everyone and good writing resonates with everyone, regardless of race.
I personally like to keep my reading as varied as possible, and that includes reading in six languages, because the beauty of these languages doesn't always translates as well into English... :)
Love to hear this and I think you speak to what publishing overlooks, which is that of course it's not the case that only Black readers read Black authors, or Asian American readers Asian American authors, etc etc. It's just a shortsightedness and lack of imagination and effort that's pretty entrenched AND YET it's truly gotten better in recent years. So we'll see!
Absolutely! After all, aren't we all humans, looking for human experiences? My dream is to arrive at the day when we no longer have to say "black writers" and can just say writers, because it is so natural that we have a diverse and interesting pool of talent. My writer friend Aïcha and I complete each other's sentences and seem to be more like soul sisters than friends, even with our completely different background and skin colour. We lift each other up. And this, and our changing world, gives me so much hope (that the Trump administration cannot touch!)
I love your STEP program and will, as always, spread the word about it far and wide. As a Latina in publishing for 28 years I have always been very aware of the "whiteness" in our business, though I got hired at Sunbelt in part due to my background, and my familiarity with Mexico, especially Baja California.
As someone who has been writing novels for 30+ years, I'm well aware that this has been an important topic since...forever. It is especially so now. Seems we take one step forward, two steps back. Thank you bringing this to light again.
This is so generous, Brooke. Thank you for pulling back the curtain and sharing real numbers about how we are represented in publishing. For those of us navigating this space with our whole hearts and limited time, this kind of transparency is everything. As someone working full-time in news while writing my first memoir, I’m so grateful for this kind of insight. Cheering for everyone brave enough to bet on themselves and submit their work. Brava! 👏🏾
It's not that the concept of DEI makes people "uncomfortable", it's mostly losing it's oomph because DEI goes against the grain that made this country so great...hiring, advancement, innovation all based on merit.
Winning the STEP scholarship to publish The Garden of Second Chances wasn’t just a personal milestone. My writing confidence was restored. No one wanted a story of incarcerated teens with a Mexican main character and teens who were mostly Black or Latinas, unless it was sensationalized like Orange is the New Black. As a writer of color, I know firsthand how many doors are still closed to us in publishing, and how much our stories are needed. That scholarship gave my work a chance to be seen. The book has won two awards and excellent reviews—proof that readers are hungry for stories from voices that haven’t always been heard.
DEI in publishing isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a responsibility. Representation matters not only for BIPOC writers but for readers of every background. This takes support from non-BIPOC readers—reading, reviewing, and recommending our books to friends, libraries, and schools. This helps shift the tide and make room for more stories like mine.
When you buy a book by a BIPOC author, you're helping to rewrite the narrative of who gets to tell stories and whose stories are seen as worth telling. PS: I have a second novel published, which also went on to be starred reviewed and win two other awards.
I appreciate the work you (Brooke) and your team do for STEP. I know there will be more award winners who publish and go on to write many more wonderful books. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this, Mona. Means a lot to hear some of your personal experience around it. ❤️
What's interesting is that I have been reading black and indigenous writers long before DEI. Not because they are black or indigenous, but because they are outstanding writers! Reading this post I reflected upon what/whom I read, and looked towards the pile of books beside my desk. A collection that is dominated by immigrant writers writing in their second, or third languages (Elif Shafak is just one example), Bernardine Evaristo, Teresse Marie Mailhot, Frederick Joseph, Ocean Vuong... My personal favourite writer (who I am honoured to call a friend and creative collaborator) is Aïcha Martine Thiam whose work I can't shut up about (yes, please do check her out!). I'm not even making an effort here. I truly believe that there is room for everyone and good writing resonates with everyone, regardless of race.
I personally like to keep my reading as varied as possible, and that includes reading in six languages, because the beauty of these languages doesn't always translates as well into English... :)
Love to hear this and I think you speak to what publishing overlooks, which is that of course it's not the case that only Black readers read Black authors, or Asian American readers Asian American authors, etc etc. It's just a shortsightedness and lack of imagination and effort that's pretty entrenched AND YET it's truly gotten better in recent years. So we'll see!
Absolutely! After all, aren't we all humans, looking for human experiences? My dream is to arrive at the day when we no longer have to say "black writers" and can just say writers, because it is so natural that we have a diverse and interesting pool of talent. My writer friend Aïcha and I complete each other's sentences and seem to be more like soul sisters than friends, even with our completely different background and skin colour. We lift each other up. And this, and our changing world, gives me so much hope (that the Trump administration cannot touch!)
Thanks for reminding us that we can inhabit a fully well rounded world that includes every kind of person, from any culture or tribe!
Thanks for providing titles. I bought two, and look forward to reading.
Thanks so much!
Thanks for doing this and providing the list of the books.
Another important post, Brooke. Thanks for your excellent work.
Proud of you and SWP for this initiative!
I love your STEP program and will, as always, spread the word about it far and wide. As a Latina in publishing for 28 years I have always been very aware of the "whiteness" in our business, though I got hired at Sunbelt in part due to my background, and my familiarity with Mexico, especially Baja California.
As someone who has been writing novels for 30+ years, I'm well aware that this has been an important topic since...forever. It is especially so now. Seems we take one step forward, two steps back. Thank you bringing this to light again.
So true - one forward, two back. Thanks, Connie.
This is so generous, Brooke. Thank you for pulling back the curtain and sharing real numbers about how we are represented in publishing. For those of us navigating this space with our whole hearts and limited time, this kind of transparency is everything. As someone working full-time in news while writing my first memoir, I’m so grateful for this kind of insight. Cheering for everyone brave enough to bet on themselves and submit their work. Brava! 👏🏾
Beautiful.
It's not that the concept of DEI makes people "uncomfortable", it's mostly losing it's oomph because DEI goes against the grain that made this country so great...hiring, advancement, innovation all based on merit.