Walter Grant by We Need Diverse Books

What would it take to get you to the next phase of your writing or illustrating dream? A computer? A class? A conference? Something else? We Need Diverse Books and the Walter Grant offer an opportunity to help you take a step forward.   

Take a glimpse at some of the awesome books created and/or contributed to by previous Walter Grant winners: 

We Need Diverse Books extended the deadline to apply for the 2023 Walter Grant to July 10, 2023. If you miss the deadline, read on to get an early start for next year. 

From the We Need Diverse Books website: 

"The Walter Dean Myers Grant program was established to provide grants of $2,000 each to promising diverse writers and illustrators who are currently unpublished. Since 2015, we have awarded 45 grants. Current and former grantees have gone on to publish or contract over 50 books for children and teens."

2015 winner, Angie Thomas, used her award to buy a computer. She went on to write the New York Times Bestseller The Hate U Give and other award winning books. Read more about previous winners in this article by Andrea Ruggirello.  

Requirements when applying - you'll include:

• a brief statement (200 words) about how you will use your grant money to further your writing career. 
• a 200-word summary of the work you're submitting.
• 1 500-word essay about how diversity impacts your writing and/or illustrating career. 
• a 2,500-word excerpt of your work (in the genre in which you are applying) or 4 to 6 illustration samples  

Read here to learn details about submission guidelines, application process, and eligibility details. 

Where to apply:  Right on the webpage - read and scroll down to complete. There's a list of FAQs at the bottom of the webpage: We Need Diverse Books Walter Grant 

Direct any questions to waltergrant@diversebooks.org

Cheers,

Kim

P.S. Who is "We Need Diverse Books"? 

We Need Diverse Books™ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people.

Details here.

 

Caleb and Kit by Beth Vrable: Entertainment, Adventure, and Diversity!

Caleb and Kit by Beth Vrable

FROM THE JACKETFLAP: 

"Twelve-year-old Caleb is shorter, frailer, and more protected than most kids his age. That's because he has cystic fibrosis, a diagnosis meaning lungs that fill with mucus and a shortened lifespan. Caleb tries not to let his disorder define him, but it can be hard with an overprotective mom and a perfect big brother.
Then Caleb meets Kit--a vibrant, independent, and free girl--and his world changes instantly. Kit reads Caleb's palm and tells him they are destined to become friends. She calls birds down from the sky and turns every day into an adventure. Her magic is contagious, making Caleb question the rules and order in his life. But being Kit's friend means embracing deception and danger, and soon Caleb will have to decide if his friendship with Kit is really what's best for him--or her."

If Caleb and Kit were a recipe, the instructions would say: mix up a heaping bowl of heart, humor, and adventure, plus add a dash of Because of Winn Dixie and Bridge to Terabithia. This book is a must read not only for the entertainment value, but also for the diversity of introducing a character with cystic fibrosis without reducing the protagonist to being defined by his disease. Author Beth Vrable delivers a cast of interesting and complicated characters and readers will most definitely want to follow Caleb and Kit page after page.

Comparable titles include The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin and Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.

Don't take my word for it. Look at these fantastic reviews:

"A realistic story with strong, recognizable characters that doesn't reduce cystic fibrosis to a tragedy."
—-Kirkus Reviews

"Filled with smart, witty, and magical writing, Kit and Caleb, and those around them, come to vibrant life in this heartbreaking story about the ties that bring people together, and the difficulties of facing the truth."

—-Booklist

"A compelling story of two struggling kids making their own safe haven."
—- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

💙💙💙👦 from Caleb:

“I wanted to be like Kit, to see stories everywhere. I wanted to make up a new world, one where I wasn’t sick and she was magic. I wanted that more than anything.”

• Age Range: 8 - 12 years
• Grade Level: 3 - 7
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (September 12, 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076246223X
• ISBN-13: 978-0762462230

Suggestions on places where you can buy a copy:

Amazon

Tattered Cover

BookBar

Second Star to the Right