One of my favorite podcasts (the first podcast I ever subscribed to, in fact!) is Better Than The Movie. Jeanette and Tahmeka talk books in a really, casual but in depth way that appeals to me as a Black woman working in the industry. It is so easy for me to only hear book news from white women and/or from a kidlit perspective because I am steeped in that community every day. So I definitely value their voices and perspectives as Black women readers who are outside the industry. They aren’t simply rehashing the same things that have been circulating in #BookTwitter all day.
I was so excited to be a guest on their show in March. I had so much fun chatting with Jeanette! We covered my work as a book buyer, things I’ve learned about making literature accessible to young people, and the forthcoming Festival of Literary Diversity. I wish Tahmeka could have been there but we might have talked forever and ever!
Have a listen!
I’m not going to transcribe our conversation here but I will clarify some points I made in the podcast:
- Here is the Scholastic Kids Reading Report I mentioned: http://www.scholastic.com/readingreport/
- I made a mistake. The conference I was thinking of is in Angouleme which is nowhere near Paris. Geography fail. It fantastic though and has been running for more than 40 years! http://www.bdangouleme.com/
- I say there are “plenty of [diverse] books” out there. Plenty of books, does not mean there should not be more. There absolutely needs to be more and they need to be more visible. However it is unfair to say they are none because it dismisses the contributions of so many working Canadian writers.
- Check out the Goodreads pages for the books I mention:
[…] Go subscribe to Better than the Movie and listen to my guest appearance. […]