There’s a lot of talk going on right now in the online writing and reading community about the issue of diversity in fiction, specifically related to book covers. The trigger point for the current discussion is the US cover of Justine Larbalestier’s LIAR. The protagonist of LIAR describes herself as black, with hair short enough she can pass for a boy. The cover shows a white girl with long straight hair. Justine writes eloquently about the situation in her own blog here (The short version: She fought against the cover. She lost). There is a response from the publisher in this article at Publishers Weekly.

I am horrified, as a writer, imagining what it would feel like to have a book that I poured my heart into becoming associated with such negativity and outrage, all because of its cover: something that writers have almost no control over. I am sad, as a reader, because I was looking forward to reading LIAR and I want to support the author, but I also don’t want to help perpetuate the belief that this kind of thing is okay (I am hoping they change the cover for the paperback; or there’s the Australian version which has a graphic text cover). I am angry, thinking about all the readers out there who want to see people like themselves on covers, who are losing this chance (as they have lost many others) because of fear. And I am disappointed in myself, that I haven’t done more, before this, to try to make a difference.

I like to focus on the positive, so that’s where I am going from here. I’ve been following along with some of the regular CORA Diversity Roll Calls headed up by the Color Online blog, and I particularly like their recent challenge for August.

So, I am going to dedicate August to reading more books written by and/or about people of color. I stopped by the library yesterday and picked up a few (and noted, happily, that at least two of them were on display, face out on top of the stacks). And I am going to try to continue to seek out more diverse books in the months and years to come, and I am going to talk about them. I encourage every reader out there to do the same — and not only for diversity of color. It’s easy to hunker down in one little corner of the written world (like, say, MG/YA fantasy, if you are me!) and read only what is familiar. But there are so many wonderful books out there in all genres, at all reading levels (and non-fiction too!). So challenge yourself to try something new!