From time to time, we see this come up in book twitter. A book is flagged as problematic, or has some content that we have an issue with. First of all, this is NORMAL. Not every book is going to be perfect. I dare say we are all problematic from time to time, and make… Continue reading Calling Out Problematic Books
Tag: representation
Discussing Identity, and when it’s not Enough
The other day I read a convo on twitter that made me really think about how we often see ourselves, and how we can hurt someone else when we are hurting. It revolved around the new Blade Runner trailer, and the fact that there are no visible POC on it. Often in sci-fi movies the… Continue reading Discussing Identity, and when it’s not Enough
Staying in Your Lane (And Other Publishing Woes)
Authors of Color and often LGBT writers always talk about "staying in your lane" when it comes to other writers that don't share a marginalization with the character they are writing. More often than not, this is seen as a really restricting view on writing, as if POC are telling other writers NOT TO WRITE… Continue reading Staying in Your Lane (And Other Publishing Woes)
The 2017 Guide to Behaving in Publishing when your book is called out
Hello friends! Due to the crazy amount of responses we've been seing on the internet regarding a push back against sensitivity readers (whaaaaaaaat?) and what not, I decided to write a guide on how to behave if your book gets called out. First of all, let's sort some things straight. SENSITIVITY READERS ARE NECESSARY. They're… Continue reading The 2017 Guide to Behaving in Publishing when your book is called out
It’s Not About You
So I'm back on the topic of writing about diversity -- but this time, on the response of many white authors that I'm seeing due to critique of their work and how their representation isn't as good as it could be. By now, I've written about this topic effusively. If you're writing about a marginalized… Continue reading It’s Not About You
Bad Representation is Bad Writing
This week a friend of mine came to talk to me about Christopher Nolan's INTERSTELLAR. Although I thought that the making of the movie was beautiful (the shots! the planets! the score!), I couldn't simply set this aside and say it was a good movie because of the way the female characters were treated. To… Continue reading Bad Representation is Bad Writing
Laura Pohl 