2018 Diversity Audit Resources – The Quest to Create an Own Voices Master List as an Audit Tool
Whenever I talk about doing a YA collection diversity audit (links at the end of this post), the #1 question I get asked, after how in general, is how do you know if an author is own voices or not. It’s a good question that typically takes a lot of research, even for me. I have somewhat of a basis now using my own collection and my first audit, but starting from scratch was a time consuming endeavor that had me checking and double checking lists I found online and cross checking them with my own shelf list. There are lots of good individual resources out there that focus on things like Latinx authors, or LGBTQ authors, or POC authors, but you have to find and navigate each one, which makes the task a bit more cumbersome.
This year, I want to work on creating an Own Voices master list that would help other YA librarians have some starting points for doing their own diversity audits. Some other librarians have agreed to help. Lisa Krok (@readonthebeach), Allie (@alphabeticallie) and I are working on creating a YA Own Voices Master List that we can upload to Google Docs and share with the general public. But it’s quite a task and we are working out the details. It’s a discussion in progress. In the meantime, we could really use your help.
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Want to know more about Own Voices? Here’s a brief beginning.
1. Help us create the Master List by sharing resources you know about in the comments so we can add them to our list. A lot of people have done some initial work and compiled great lists, so if you know about them please place a link in the comments.
2. If you have some sort of a spreadsheet already and don’t mind sharing, please consider sending it to me via email. We will make sure that your work is acknowledged.
3. If you are an author who wants to be included, please comment below or email me.
A note about this list: Our goal is to create a tool to help YA librarians assess the make up of their collections in order to build the most inclusive collections as possible. We do not expect that this list will ever be exhaustive or all inclusive because new authors are always being announced and also, some authors may not wish to be identified. For example, we do not want to ever accidentally out an LGBTQ author who does not wish to be identified. We also want to work and make sure that we correctly identify authors in the ways they wish to be identified and respect their right not to be included if they so choose. We are choosing to focus not just on works that include diverse characters, which have value, but on focusing on and lifting up own voices authors to help ensure that we are not just lifting up diverse titles, but diverse authors because as recent research has indicated, children’s and YA publishing is still overwhelmingly white. We want our kids to not only read about characters that look like themselves, but to read about it from an author who looks like them and can remind them that not only can they read diversely, but that they too can grow up to be an author and share their words if they so choose.
We live in an increasingly diverse world, but many areas of our lives do not reflect this. Publishing is one of these areas, and we want to provide a resource to help libraries do the necessary work of making sure that they are purposefully curating inclusive collections. While organizations like We Need Diverse Books does the work on helping to diversify publishing, librarians need to do the work of making sure we are buying the books and building inclusive collections for our patrons.
Please note, for the purposes of this discussion, we are talking about books published as YA. I fully understand that teens read both down and up, but for the purposes of this project we will be looking at YA authors who have published at least 1 title published as YA/Teen.
Current Resources and Discussion
Diversity in Publishing
The Diversity Baseline Survey | Lee & Low Books
Infographic Series: The Diversity Gap | Lee & Low Books
SLJ Resources for Diversity in Kid and YA Lit | School Library Journal
We Need Diverse Books | Official site of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks
Children’s Book Council (CBC) Diversity ;CBC Diversity Initiative | Children’s Book Council
Cooperative Children’s Book Center: Publishing Stats on Children’s Books and Diversity
Population Statistics
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts selected: UNITED STATES
LGBT America: By the Numbers | Washington Week – PBS
Doing a Diversity Audit
Diversity in Collection Development – American Library Association
Having Students Analyze Our Classroom Library To See How Diverse It Is
Diversity in Libraries–From Collections and Community to Staff
Third Graders Assess and Improve Diversity of Classroom Library
How You Can Support the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign
Additional Resources: Book Lists and New Releases
Diversity in YA (General)
We Need Diverse Books | Official site of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks
Book Lists | Diversity in YA – www.diversityinya.com/category/book-lists/
Diversity in Young Adult and Middle Grade (1351 books) – Goodreads
31 Young Adult Books With Diverse Characters Literally Everyone
Diversity YA Life: Diverse Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror – The Hub
Diversity YA Life: Urban Fiction – The Hub
Rich in Color | Reading & Reviewing Diverse YA Books – richincolor.com/
Diversify YA Life: Horror with Diverse Characters
50 Years of Diversity in Young Adult Literature by Edith Campbell
60 Diverse Books To Look for in 2017
10 Diverse Books by YA Authors of Color to Read in 2017 | Teen Vogue
Faces of Color on 2017 YA Books – Book Riot
14 of Our Most Anticipated OwnVoices YA Books of 2018 – July through December
Asian American Protagonists
Best Asian-American Teen Fiction (156 books) – Goodreads
A Round-Up of Awesome Asian American Protagonists in YA Lit
11 Young Adult Novels By Asian-American Authors – Bustle
LatinX Representation
13 Upcoming YA Books By Latinx Authors To Start Getting Excited
9 Books By Latinx Authors I Wish I Had As A Teenager – Bustle
Latinxs in Kid Lit – https://latinosinkidlit.com/
Native American Representation
American Indians in Children’s Literature
#OwnVoices Representation: Native American Authors – YA Interrobang
Teen Books With Native American Characters and Stories (66 books)
Some thoughts on YA lit and American Indians – American Indians in Children’s Literature/Debbie Reese
Books Outside The Box: Native Americans – The Hub
Teen Books by Native Writers to Trumpet Year-Round | School Library
POC Leads
10 Diverse Books by YA Authors of Color to Read in 2017 | Teen Vogue
Faces of Color on 2017 YA Books – Book Riot
12 Young Adult Novels With POC Protagonists – Bustle
14 YA Books About LGBTQ People of Color – The B&N Teen Blog
Books By and About People of Marginalized Races
LGBTQAI+
YA Pride (formerly Gay YA) : YA Pride (@YA_Pride) | Twitter
30 Essential LGBT Books for YA Readers – AbeBooks
100 Must-Read LGBTQIA YA Books – Book Riot
23 of Our Most Anticipated LGBTQA YA Books of 2017 – The B&N
72 Must-Read YA Books Featuring Gay Protagonists – Epic Reads
LGBTQIAP+ Books By People Who Identify as LGBTQIAP+
Disability in YA Lit
Disability in Kidlit — Reviews, articles, and more about the portrayal of …
People First: Disabilities in YA Lit – The Hub
#ownvoices in Disability and Neurodiversity
Feminist YA
50 Crucial Feminist YA Novels – The B&N Teen Blog
34 Young Adult Books Every Feminist Will Love – BuzzFeed
100 Young Adult Books for the Feminist Reader | Bitch Media
Body Acceptance
5 Body-Positive YA Reads to Take to the Beach – The B&N Teen Blog
Celebrating Every Body: 25 Body Image Positive Books for Mighty Girls
7 Body Positive YA Books That Slay | Brit + Co
Julie Murphy’s ‘Dumplin’ And 6 Other Body Positive YA Novels – Bustle
Religious Diversity in YA
#FSYALit at Teen Librarian Toolbox
Rich in Color | Six YA Books with Middle Eastern or Muslim Protagonists
Diversity in YA Literature: Muslim Teens – The Hub
Jewish Themed Young Adult Books, Not About The Holocaust
The Big Five (+1) in YA: Atheism and Agnosticism – The Hub
The Big Five (+1) in YA: Buddhism – The Hub
Mental Health in YA
#MHYALit at Teen Librarian Toolbox
29 YA Books About Mental Health That Actually Nail It – BuzzFeed
16 YAs That Get it Right: Mental Health Edition – The B&N Teen Blog
YA novels that get real about mental health – HelloGiggles
11 YA Novels That Deal With Mental Health Issues – Bustle
10 Must-Read YA Books That Also Talk About Mental Health – Healthline
Socio-Economic Diversity in YA Lit
Socio-Economic Diversity in YA Lit
Rich Teen, Poor Teen: Books that depict teens living in poverty
#SJYALit: A Bibliography of MG and YA Lit Featuring Homeless Youth
Own Voices
MG/YA/NA #ownvoices (216 books) – Goodreads
#OwnVoices in Disability and Neurodiversity | The Daily Dahlia
11 of Our Most Anticipated #OwnVoices Reads of 2017
10 Amazing #OwnVoices Reads from 2016
LGBTQA Science Fiction and Fantasy YA by #OwnVoices Authors
Don’t forget to check out the hasthag #OwnVoices on Twitter
New Releases
YA Books Central – www.yabookscentral.com/
Teen Reads – www.teenreads.com
Book Riot – www.bookriot.com
Barnes and Noble Teen Blog – www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/teen/
YA Interrobang – www.yainterrobang.com
YA Lit – www.yalit.com
Epic Reads – www.epicreads.com
Pop Crush – www.popcrush.com
Bustle – www.bustle.com
Adventures in YA – www.adventuresinya.com
Coming Soon
17 Upcoming YA by Authors of Color: Bustle
Teens of Color on 2018 YA Book Covers – STACKED – books
2018 YA/MG Books With POC Leads (120 books) – Goodreads
Thirteen YA Books That Feature POC Leads Coming to You This 2018
17 YA Books By Authors Of Color To Look Out For In The First Half Of 2018
2018 YA Books with (Possible) LGBT Themes (114 books) – Goodreads – please note the possible noted here
The Complete List of 2018 YA Releases | Fictionist Magazine
YA Novels of 2018 (708 books) – Goodreads
YA Debuts 2018 (96 books) – Goodreads
Electric Eighteens | Electric 18s – 2018 Debut Young Adult
*with assistance from TLTer Heather Booth
Complete YA Collection Diversity Audit Series
Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: Understanding Your Local Community (Part 1)
Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: The How To (Part 2)
Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: Resources and Sources (Part 3)
Diversity Audit Outline 2017 with Sources
Filed under: Uncategorized
About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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Just a friendly reminder that, just like no single person is “diverse,” “#ownvoices” doesn’t describe a person/author. It describes the relationship between an author and the representation in a particular work. For example, a book with an autistic, lesbian, Latinx main character could be #ownvoices in its autism rep without being #ownvoices on other axes. The same author could have written other books that are not #ownvoices, or are #ownvoices in other aspects of their identities.
I’d encourage you to talk to lots of folks before designing this spreadsheet, but to me it would make more sense to organize it by BOOK rather than by AUTHOR.
I completely understand what you are saying, and it is definitely something I have wrestled with in this entire conversation.
What is the status of this project? We are very interested in sharing our information and getting information from other libraries!