“We need more diverse books!”
Books with queer characters have become more popular these days. People are fascinated with the stories about queer people’s lives because, perhaps they finally realized the world isn’t completely hetero. More importantly, they wanted something different than the hero and the heroine or the assumed “straight” characters that dominate fiction. They wanted different, which means more diversity.
However, diversity doesn’t just cover queer versus hetero, it also means race, age, culture differences, religion, and able-bodied. That cry should mean we want more stories that represent all kinds of people, not just the majority.
As an author of color, I also wanted to see that change. I write books with queer characters of color, so why not showcase others as well? Several months ago, I posed the idea in the group I coordinated and found others who wished to do the same. In that time period, we started a website along with a newsletter, a Twitter page, and Facebook called Queer in Color.
Queer in Color’s main objective is to highlight books with queer characters of color. We feature the books for free on the website and if authors choose to be featured on the social media as well as our newsletter, we charge a small fee.
So, if you write books with queer characters of color, please fill out the form on the website. And no, it’s not just for romance. We’ll feature all fiction with queer PoC. Right now, we need more books with lesbian, trans, asexual, and bisexual characters because the site has many gay books, but not enough of anything else. We could also use more books featuring Latino and Asian characters as well because, again, we’re trying to cover all cultural bases.
Though more could be done, this is a start. It’s a way we can pay homage to those books that break the mold.
Thanks for taking the time to listen to me today. If you have any questions about the website, or being featured, please don’t hesitate to contact me at queerincolor@yahoo.com
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