I gave myself an extra special holiday gift this year. Was it expensive? Absolutely. Was it worth it? Again, a resounding yes. Will I do it again? Read further and see the answer. What was this present – well, a little background first. As a professional author with a host of short stories and three […]
The Gift of #Ownvoices Read More »
Some thing require more than just a diversity policy. An organizational policy on diversity is a lot like a school policy against bullying. It may make the people on top, school boards, administrators, teachers and counselors, feel good. It certainly gives them something to point to when parents or the news media come by with
Policies On Diversity Are Only The Beginning Read More »
You never know how the things you experience today can prepare you for an opportunity tomorrow. Likewise, you also never know how a person you met yesterday can influence your five year outlook. Let’s just say life is a puzzle and it’s up to notice the pieces and put them together. I vividly remember the
PWID 2016 Scholarship winner – Nabeeh Bilal Read More »
As I sit here thinking about how I am going to explain what this opportunity means to me, I get flooded with emotions and I feel my heart start beating a little faster. I have always believed that I have to trust my instincts and intuition, and that things will work out the way they should in
PWID 2016 Diversity Scholarship Winner Khannie Dastgah Read More »
Not too long ago, I found myself in a well-known, independent feminist bookstore wondering where all the characters of color were. This was a while into my time working there as a bookseller, but I often thought back to the first day I stepped into this particular shop–how magical it was (especially compared to Barnes
A New Challenge – Jill Kuangfung Read More »
Fellow African American children’s author, Urania Smith, teamed with me, B A Binns, to sponsor three diverse authors to attend the 2016 Illinois SCBWI conference, Prairie Writers and Illustrators Day (PWID) coming up on Saturday, November 5 at Harper College in Palatine, Ill. Urania and I both want to see ways to see more authors
Diverse authors/illustrators at the Illinois SCBWI conference Read More »
B A Binns & Nancy Goodfellow The Illinois Library Association, ILA, held it’s annual conference in Rosemont, Il on October 19 and 20. On Wednesday, Oct 19, I spoke at a session titled Using Diverse Books in Library Programs. Along with my co-presenter, Nancy Goodfellow, a member of the National Association for Down Syndrome, the
Using Diverse Books in Library Programs – ILA 2016 Read More »
For the record, the title of this blog is meant to be a hook. Authors know what I mean, that thing good novels use to capture a reader’s attention. In reality, the contest I am going to tell you about had lots of entries. Entries that shared more than a few things in common. Last
What if you gave a contest and nobody came? Read More »
Here are the winners of my contest, two fresh author/illustrator faces who won free tuition for the Illinois SCBWI conference, Prairie Writers and Illustrators Day, Nabeeh Bilal and Jill Kuanfung. Both will be my guests at this year’s conference. Congratulations to everyone who entered.
I’m an outlier, a black female who swims. There are a few of us, you know. I grew up on the south side of Chicago. There were no public pools back then, but out school found a way. We were required to take swimming, and being on your period was an excuse that went only
Sharing or Things that should be learned in kindergarten Read More »