We Need Diverse Books

Help Create a World Where Every Child Can See Themselves in the Pages of a Book

We are raising $50,000 to expand WNDB In the Classroom, an initiative that donates new books featuring diverse characters and written by diverse authors to schools and libraries across the country.  

We face challenging times. The disparities families and schools in low-income communities face are only exacerbated in times like these. Competing demands on limited resources put the purchase of books in direct competition with basic needs, technology, textbooks, and educational materials. With the prevalence of virtual learning, WNDB continues to provide print books giving educators quality literacy options for their students. 

The WNDB In the Classroom program has donated over 19,000 books to schools and nonprofit organizations nationwide. If there ever was a time to invest in helping a teacher or librarian bring diverse books to their students, it's now.  We need your help to expand this program and share the love of books and reading with more students. 

About We Need Diverse Books (Tax Id: 47-1786302) 

In 2014, the founders of We Need Diverse Books took to Twitter and shared this prompt "We need diverse books because...."   More than 20,000 people from around the world responded.  As one teen posted, "We need diverse books because if I don't belong to the world I was born to, then where do I belong.  

With this and other testimonials fueling our purpose, WNDB strives to create a world in which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book. To reach this goal, we've created programs to celebrate diverse books, to mentor diverse writers and illustrators, to support diverse publishing professionals, and to provide books to classrooms nationwide.  Every day we work to:

• Provide financial support to diverse authors. Through our Walter Dean Myers Grant program, we provide funds to help develop new diverse authors and artists. The Walter Dean Myers Grant has honored and provided financial support to 16 aspiring creators from marginalized communities, and past honorees include Angie Thomas, Francesca Padilla, and Jennifer De Leon.
• Mentor emerging authors and illustrators from diverse backgrounds. The WNDB Mentorship Mentorship program has supported 49 emerging authors and illustrators, among them Lisa Brathwaite and A. M. Dassu. Recently, Angeline Boulley, a 2019 mentee who worked with author Francisco X. Stork, sold her debut YA novel after a 12-bidder auction.
• Honor outstanding children's literature written by diverse authors. Inaugurated in 2016, the annual Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children's Literature, aka "The Walter," has celebrated 24 titles of children’s and young adult authors, among them Jason Reynolds, Elizabeth Acevedo, Mariko Tamaki, Jewell Parker Rhodes, John Lewis, Nate Powell, Margarita Engle, Akwaeke Emezi, and Nicola Yoon.
• Diversify the publishing industry. The Internship Grant program has given 54 internship grants to diverse interns at publishing houses and literary agencies. Of the 39 grantees who have graduated college, 30 are now employed in the publishing industry, with two of our grantees busy making acquisitions.

Watch this video to learn more about the 2014 #weneeddiversebooks campaign.