It’s been a busy week, fellow readers, and I hope you’re well. There’s a lot of interesting things happening in the world of diverse books, as usual–read on for updates…
- The biggest piece of book news this week is pretty sad, fellow readers. Children’s author Beverly Cleary, who gave the world the gift of plucky little girl Ramona Quimby, has passed away at the age of 104(!). A long life well-lived, and I know that my childhood and many others were immeasurably better because of the kinship I felt with Ramona and her adventures. Rest in peace and power. [via The Guardian]
- There are a lot of unexpected things in the literary world, but one thing I never expected to type about is the existence of a playlist of Jane Austen’s favorite tunes. [via Colorado Public Radio]
- And here’s another sentence I never expected to type: the same woman who invented the Tangle Teezer hairbrush has started a children’s book subscription box called Woke Babies that highlights Black authors.[via Madame Noire]
- Speaking of children’s books, award-winning deaf poet Raymond Antrobus has written a book called Can Bears Ski?, which features a deaf protagonist whose deafness is discovered through childhood activities, much like the poet’s own personal story. However, the poet is not a bear. [via The Guardian]
- Performance poet Kyla Jenee Lacey really needs to publish a book. That’s all. [via YouTube]
- A biography of rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was tragically killed in March 2019, has been released this week. While the biography is unauthorized and doesn’t include interviews with some of the people who knew Hussle best, it does seem to give a good account of everything the man accomplished in just 33 short years. [via Los Angeles Times]
- Last one for this week–the Rona Jaffe Awards, which gave six emerging women writers $30K every year, have been discontinued. While the decision to end the award seems to have been quite complicated, ultimately the foundation, named after the iconic New York writer, has decided that the funds would be better used to support other projects. I get it, but it’s thanks to this fund that we have works such as Ladee Hubbard’s The Rib King and Honore Fannone Jeffers’ The Age of Phillis. I’m sure something else will come along to replace it, but still, sad news. [via LitHub]
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Equal Opportunity Reader 