Books & Authors

Engaging Historically Underrepresented Young Adult Readers

Monday, June 27, 2022

9:00am – 10:00am

Location: Washington Convention Center, 146C

Underrepresented young adult readers (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, Neuro-Divergent, etc.) who do not see themselves depicted in in an accurate, respectful manner may lose interest in reading for a lifetime. Worse, they may internalize this lack of respectful representation as not being worthy of it. Five historically underrepresented, debut authors will share how it felt not to see themselves in fiction and share strategies that would have engaged them. Participants will leave the session with actionable tactics such as: Leaning Into the News Cycle, Identifying and Serving Local Demographics, and Creating a Representational Calendar.

Learning Objectives:

Identify local underrepresented communities
Meaningfully engage historically underrepresented readers
Recognize and counter harmful media narratives with #ownvoices kid lit

Moderator(s)

Susan Azim Boyer

Author
St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books

Speaker(s)

Maya Prasad

Author
Disney-Hyperion
Katryn Bury

Author
Harper Collins/Clarion
Vanessa L. Palensky

Author
Knopf Books for Young Readers