Who are the people in publishing who decide what books get published?
and is it “easier” to get published if you are an Asian American woman?
Every year I look forward to the Lee and Low survey on diversity in publishing.
Despite despite publicly avowed commitment to “DEI” and diversity, while more books by people of color are being published, publishing itself (this survey includes people who review books) still remains overwhelmingly white. This definitely makes it harder (not easier!) for people of color to get published because of things like unconscious bias, and just, well, familiarity. It’s undeniably easier to relate to material you are familiar with.
I wish I had a dime every time I heard someone say to me, “You’re so lucky to be an Asian American woman because that’s the kind of stuff publishers want.” No, this piece by #RoxaneGay points out that not only is it much harder to get published if you are a person of color, but once you get published, it’s harder for your book to get attention. In this independent study from 2012, nearly 90% (!!!) of the books reviewed by The New York Times are written by white authors!
