WRITING IN COLOR

A guide to the craft, business, and life of writing by popular and successful YA authors who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color based in the U.S. and around the world.

New releases include more diversity than ever, yet writers from marginalized groups, telling stories that matter to them, continue to be underrepresented. The community of voices gathered in this volume reaffirms the importance of these stories and guides aspiring authors as they navigate a writing life, with a particular emphasis on writing YA. The book is divided into two parts. The first compiles essays about craft: Among other entries, Joan He discusses what agency might look like for a character from a collectivist society, Chloe Gong addresses when and how to break Western-defined writing rules, and Laura Pohl describes the experience of writing in English when it is not your first language. The second part focuses on the business of publishing and presents a mix of instructive personal histories—for example, from Adiba Jaigirdar and Darcie Little Badger—and how-to guides for authors once their manuscripts are completed. Julian Winters addresses coping with imposter syndrome, and Julie C. Dao describes holding onto the joy of writing post-publication. The authors, whose names will be a draw for fans of YA literature, present different approaches to creating literature that negotiate the space between White Western culture, perspectives, and expectations and their own.

The honest, useful craft book that all fledgling writers need.