It’s simple really: readers need to ask for diversity in fiction. They can vote in the best way possible: with their wallets.
And, to talk about it to anyone who will listen: I don’t think most readers know to go into a bookstore or a website and ask for a diverse author or book title. It’s like going into a bookstore and not knowing to ask for books by Australian authors over here — God knows, I wouldn’t have done so until I became aware of the movement calling for more diversity online — I don’t think that readers who hop into bookstores or libraries or peruse bestseller lists in the newspaper know to ask where the diverse books are — or the female writers, or the authors of colour.
That’s why movements like #LoveOzYa and #Weneeddiversebooks matter and need our support. What else is out there that supports diversity in fiction? Is there a store near you that is doing something different, for instance?
