Publishing World Gathers This Week for Book Conventions; Associated Press via New York Times, 5/26/15

Associated Press via New York Times; Publishing World Gathers This Week for Book Conventions:

"Diversity will get an extra push at this week's BookCon and BookExpo America.

Last year, a virtually all-white lineup of speakers at publishing's annual national conventions highlighted the whiteness of the industry itself. BookCon's selection of four white, male authors for a discussion of children's books helped lead to the formation of the grassroots advocacy group We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) and the hasty assembly of the panel "The World Agrees: We Need Diverse Books."...

"They've heavily invested themselves in it (diversity)," Ellen Oh, a children's author and co-founder of WNDB, said of BookExpo, the industry trade show, and BookCon, a gathering for the general public. "They're not just paying lip service and they're not just having one panel. And we'll have a forum before both the general public and the industry."

Panels include "In Search of Diverse Book Buyers," about the African-American market, and "The Diversity of Success: How Publishers Create Captivating Stories." Oh will be moderating "WNDB Presents: Diversity, Be the Change You Want to See.""