As much as I would love to try the #50bookchallenge, I know myself. I don’t read quickly enough. So instead I will take the Level 5 POC challenge! The goal is to read between 16 and 25 books in which the protagonist or author is a person of color. My goal will be to have every book I read this year be a “POC” book. Exciting!
Here are the ones I’ve completed so far:
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Obamas by Jodi Kantor
Will you join this challenge?
I’m not an agent yet but I spend a lot of time considering what kind of manuscripts I’d like to see in my future inbox. Most of these are things I like to read or wish I could read more of. Future clients take note!
Fiction
Non-fiction
All of these should be part of (or start) anti-oppressive discourse. To put it simply, the manuscript should provide an alternative to the prevailing single story.
Hierarchy of Book Publishing
The Top 100
(circa 2012)1). Brand-name authors (still)
- Stephen King (since 1974)
- John Grisham (1989)
- Patricia Cornwell (1990)
- Jodi Picoult (1992)
- Nicholas Sparks (1996)
- Jennifer Weiner (2001)
- Etc.
2). Self-published authors with proven track…
When we’re getting ready to go to the theater:
In the car on the way to the theater:
When we’re in the theater lobby, ready to buy a ticket:
Upon sitting down in the theater:
Watching the trailers and just thinking, “This isn’t The Avengers.”
Hearing one of my…
