We Need Diverse Books

We Need Diverse Books We Need Diverse Books is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit revolutionizing what we read to create a world where everyone can find themself in the pages of a book.
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MISSION STATEMENT:

The mission of We Need Diverse Books (TM) is putting more books featuring diverse characters into the hands of all children.

**Please note** Due to the volume of submissions and our volunteer staff, We Need Diverse Books is unable to respond to or repost requests to promote books on our page.

August is ! It’s a time to honor the rich history and contributions of transgender historymakers, pioneers, and trailbl...
08/27/2026

August is ! It’s a time to honor the rich history and contributions of transgender historymakers, pioneers, and trailblazers, and affirms the ongoing presence of trans-spec folks all around the world.

As such, Transgender History Month presents us with an opportunity to learn more about trans history and historical figures that have paved the way for the trans community today. If you want an intersectional look at trans history, we encourage you to pick up any one of these 17 titles!

🏳️‍⚧️ Titles Included 🏳️‍⚧️

▪︎ “Gender Rebels” by Katherine Locke and Shanee Benjamin
▪︎ “Captive Genders” edited by Eric A. Stanley and Nat Smith
▪︎ “Transgender History” by Susan Stryker
▪︎ “Queer and Trans Migrations” edited by Eithne Luibhéid and Karma R. Chavez
▪︎ “Before We Were Trans” by Dr. Kit Heyam
▪︎ “Before Gender” by Eli Erlick
▪︎ “A Short History of Trans Misogyny” by Jules Gill-Peterson
▪︎ “Reclaiming Two-Spirits” by Gregory Smithers
▪︎ “Who’s Afraid of Gender?” by Judith Butler
▪︎ “The Other Olympians” by Michael Waters
▪︎ “S*x Is as S*x Does” by Paisley Currah
▪︎ “Trans Liberation” by Leslie Feinberg
▪︎ “Our Work Is Everywhere” by Syan Rose & Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
▪︎ “Female Husbands” by Jen Manion
▪︎ “Marsha” by Tourmaline
▪︎ “Miss Major Speaks” by Toshio Meronek and Miss Major Griffin Gacy
▪︎ “So Many Stars” by Caro De Robertis

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Back-to-School season is officially in full swing! Here are 24 diverse books to get students (of all ages) excited about...
08/25/2026

Back-to-School season is officially in full swing! Here are 24 diverse books to get students (of all ages) excited about being back in the classroom for a new school year 🍎📚

These stories are all set in schools and/or about starting a new school, going back to school, or navigating the classroom in different ways! As always, this is not intended to be an exhaustive list, and if you have additional recommendations for diverse school/campus books, we’d love to hear them in the comments 💬

📖 Picture Books 📖

▪︎ “Butterflies on the First Day of School” by Annie Silvestro and Dream Chen
▪︎ “The Queen of Kindergarten” by Derrick Barnes and Vanessa Brantley-Newton
▪︎ “Lunch from Home” by Joshua David Stein and Jing Li
▪︎ “Yenebi’s Drive to School” by Sendy Santamaria
▪︎ “Gloriana Presente” by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris and Doris Rodriguez
▪︎ “Kindergarten” by Vera Ahiyya and Joey Chou

📖 Middle Grade 📖

▪︎ “Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year” by Nina Hamza
▪︎ “Farah Rocks Fifth Grade” by Susan Muaddi Darraj and Ruaida Mannaa
▪︎ “Finally Seen” by Kelly Yang
▪︎ “Save Me a Seat” by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan
▪︎ “Barakah Beats” by Maleeha Siddiqui
▪︎ “How to Win a Slime War” by Mae Respicio

📖 Young Adult 📖

▪︎ “Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman” by Kristen R. Lee
▪︎ “Rules for Rule Breaking” by Talia Tucker
▪︎ “You Should See Me in a Crown” by Leah Johnson
▪︎ “My Mechanical Romance” by Alexene Farol Follmuth
▪︎ “The Field Guide to the North American Teenager” by Ben Philippe
▪︎ “Just Another Epic Love Poem” by Parisa Akhbari

📖 Adult Books 📖

▪︎ “Honey and Spice” by Bolu Babalola
▪︎ “Real Life” by Brandon Taylor
▪︎ “Disorientation” by Elaine Hsieh Chou
▪︎ “The Unfortunates” by J.K. Chukwu
▪︎ “Academy for Liars” by Alexis Henderson
▪︎ “The Bewitching” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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08/24/2026

The Horn Book: “Adams’s verse novel makes inventive use of the page as a visual medium. Her imagery evokes emotions and experiences ranging from isolation, helplessness, and loneliness to self-confidence, courage, and freedom. While Aouli experiences loss and changes in her relationships, she also gains self-trust, romantic love, and connection to her ancestors.”

ABOUT

AN EXPANSE OF BLUE by Kauakanilehua Mahoe Adams (Kanaka Maoli/Native Hawaiian), cover art by JT Ojerio (Kanaka Maoli/Native Hawaiian)(Heartdrum, 2026). Ages 13-up.

Fans of THE POET X will fall for this powerful, romantic debut novel-in-verse about a Native Hawaiian girl’s fight to find belonging in a fracturing family, sharing a message of love with resounding emotional truth.

★ Booklist (starred): “…creative placement of spare, expressive free verse on pages generous with white space will appeal to both literary and reluctant readers, as will Aouli’s fervent love for her sister and Nalu, for the blue sky, and for the big blue sea.”

★ Publishers Weekly (starred): “Via distinctive and emotionally resonant verse, Adams crafts an evocative story about identity, devotion, and belonging.“

★ Shelf Awareness (starred): “…as is so often true of poetry, its specificity is what lends to its universality—in the wide expanse of space between Aouli’s words, anyone might find a piece of themselves reflected.”

The Horn Book HarperKids Books HarperStacks We Need Diverse Books

WNDB is proud to be a Featured Story District Organization for The Library of Congress National Book Festival, happening...
08/20/2026

WNDB is proud to be a Featured Story District Organization for The Library of Congress National Book Festival, happening this weekend at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.!

🗓️ Saturday, August 22nd
⏰ 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM*
🗺️ Walter E. Washington Convention Center (D.C.)
📍 Story District - Hall D, North Building, 2nd Floor

*Story District closes at 6:00 PM

Tickets to attend the Library of Congress National Book Festival are completely FREE, though attendants will need to register online for a ticket to enter beforehand. For more information about registration, the festival’s author lineup, programming information, and tips for how to plan your day, visit the LOC website linked below.

💻 loc.gov/bookfest

WNDB’s table can be found in the Story District. At our table, we’ll have:

📚 An all-ages coloring activity!
📚 A selection of free stickers!
📚 Free WNDB bookmarks!
📚 Informational postcards and other resources!
📚 Diverse Book Bingo flyers!

Are you attending the festival? We’d love to see you there!

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Say hello to our 2027 Mentors 😎📚We’ll be accepting applications for our 2027 Mentorship Program starting in early Septem...
08/19/2026

Say hello to our 2027 Mentors 😎📚

We’ll be accepting applications for our 2027 Mentorship Program starting in early September, so stay tuned for more information!

In our annual Mentorship Program, we pair aspiring creators with published authors to hone their craft, learn about publishing, and launch their careers.

Since 2016, WNDB has welcomed over 100 writers and illustrators into our Mentorship Program. Over the course of a calendar year, our mentees work one-on-one with their mentors to edit their manuscripts and learn about the publishing process, preparing them to navigate this competitive industry.

WNDB Mentorships are offered in four categories: illustration, picture book, middle grade, and young adult. We’re proud to introduce the 17 new mentors for our 2027 program:

📖 Illustration Mentors

Nadia Salomon
Mars Lauderbaugh
Sophie Li

📖 Picture Book Mentors

Jackie Morera
Leslie Stall Widener
Courtney Pippin-Mathur
Reem Faruqi

📖 Middle Grade Mentors

Shifa Saltagi Safadi
Wendy Xu
Tracy Badua
Ari Koontz

📖 Young Adult Mentors

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Chatham Greenfield
Sonido Reyes
Alex Land
Joy McCullough
Alvina Ling

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Happy !WITMonth is an annual celebration of women writers from around the world who are writing in languages other than...
08/18/2026

Happy !

WITMonth is an annual celebration of women writers from around the world who are writing in languages other than English. It’s an opportunity to spotlight that women writing outside the English language deserve to be read widely, read often, uplifted, and appreciated for their literary accomplishments.

Reading translated fiction is one way we can celebrate and connect to our tremendously diverse world. To that end, we’ve compiled a short list of 16 translated books written by women and recently published between 2025 and 2026! If you know of any other worthwhile women-authored translations published recently, feel free to share in the comments ⬇️

📖 Titles Included 📖

▪︎ “Exemplary Humans” by Juliana Leite, translated by Zoë Perry
▪︎ “Plant Lady” by Minyoung Kang, translated by Shanna Tan
▪︎ “A Plagued Sea” by Kim Bo-young, translated by Sophie Bowman
▪︎ “Heart Lamp” Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi
▪︎ “So What if I’m a Puta” by Amara Moira, translated by Bruna Dantas Lobato
▪︎ “Hello Baby” Kim Eui-kyung, translated by Sora Kim-Russell
▪︎ “Project V” by Park Seolyeon, translated by Gene Png
▪︎ “We are Green and Trembling” by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated by Robin Myers
▪︎ “The Remembered Soldier” by Anjet Daanje, translated by David McKay
▪︎ “Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave” by Mariana Enríquez, translated by Megan McDowell
▪︎ “All Flesh” by Ananda Devi, translated by Jeffery Zuckerman
▪︎ “Event Horizon” by Balsam Karam, translated by Saskia Vogel
▪︎ “Songs for Darkness” by Iman Humaydan, translated by Michelle Hartman
▪︎ “Dreams of Ayn Ara” by Sara Abou Ghazal, translated by Katharine Halls
▪︎ “Medea Sang Me a Corrido” by Dahlia de la Cerda, translated by Heather Cleary and Julia Sanches
▪︎ “Dead Weight” by Hildur Knútsdóttir, translated by Mary Robinette Kowal

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August is , a month-long celebration founded by NAAFA, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance! It’s a time ...
08/14/2026

August is , a month-long celebration founded by NAAFA, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance! It’s a time to celebrate how we can change perceptions of what it means to be fat on a societal level and work towards ending size discrimination through advocacy, education, and support.

Body diversity is part of diversity, and that’s why we’re sharing 55 titles starring fat main characters and featuring fat positive representation! As always, this is not intended to be a definitive list, and if you have any other recommendations, we’d love to hear about them in the comments.

📖 Picture Books 📖

▪︎ “Bodies are Cool” by Tyler Feder
▪︎ “Mama’s Panza” by Isabel Quintero and Iliana Galvez
▪︎ “B is for Bellies” by Rennie Dyball and Mia Saine
▪︎ “Every Body” by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Tequitia Andrews
▪︎ “Big” by Vashti Harrison
▪︎ “Thank You, Omu!” by Oge Mora
▪︎ “Chubby Bunny” by Julie Murphy and Sarah Winifred Searle

📖 Middle Grade 📖

▪︎ “Starfish” by Lisa Fipps
▪︎ “Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek” by Kwame Mbalia
▪︎ “Some Places More Than Others” by Renée Watson
▪︎ “Camp Sylvania” by Julie Murphy
▪︎ “All of Me” by Chris Baron
▪︎ “Garvey's Choice” by Nikki Grimes
▪︎ “The Supervillain's Guide to Being a Fat Kid” by Matt Wallace
▪︎ “Chunky” by Yehudi Mercado
▪︎ “Chunky Goes to Camp” by Yehudi Mercado
▪︎ “The Truth as Told” by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor
▪︎ “Rain Rising” by Courtne Comrie
▪︎ “Sink or Swim” by Veronica Agarwal & Lee Durfey-Lavoie

📖 Young Adult 📖

▪︎ “The Sound of Stars” by Alechia Dow
▪︎ “Time and Time Again” by Chatham Greenfield
▪︎ “Try Your Worst” by Chatham Greenfield
▪︎ “The Dos and Donuts of Love” by Adiba Jaigirdar
▪︎ “The No Girlfriend Club” by Christen Randall
▪︎ “According to Plan” by Christen Randall
▪︎ “Here the Whole Time” by Vitor Martins
▪︎ “Darius the Great is Not Okay” by Adib Khorram
▪︎ “Recommended Reading” by Paul Coccia
▪︎ “Fat Chance, Charlie Vega” by Crystal Maldonado
▪︎ “The (Other) F Word” edited by Angie Manfredi
▪︎ “Every Body Shines” edited by Cassandra Newbould

📖 Adult 📖

▪︎ “My Best Friend’s Honeymoon” by Meryl Wilsner
▪︎ “World’s Okayest Oracle (Reluctantly) Seeks Demon” by Olivia Dade
▪︎ “Fat Swim” by Emma Copley Eisenberg
▪︎ “A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke” by Adriana Herrera
▪︎ “The Love Con” by Seressia Glass
▪︎ “Season of Love” by Helena Greer
▪︎ “Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell” by Taj McCoy
▪︎ “Sing Anyway” by Anita Kelly
▪︎ “A Little Kissing Between Friends” by Chencia C. Higgins
▪︎ “Knit One, Girl Two” by Shira Glassman
▪︎ “Curvy Girl Summer” by Danielle Allen
▪︎ “Tastes Like Shakkar” by Nisha Sharma

📖 Nonfiction 📖

▪︎ “No Fats No Fems” by Max Hovey
▪︎ “Hunger” by Roxane Gay
▪︎ “The Body is Not an Apology” by Sonya Renee Taylor
▪︎ “Fearing the Black Body” by Sabrina Strings
▪︎ “Fat Gay Men” by Jason Whitesel
▪︎ “Fat and Queer” edited by Miguel M. Morales, Bruce Owens Grimm, Tiff Joshua TJ Ferentini
▪︎ “Belly of the Beast” by Da’Shaun Harrison
▪︎ “Fat Activism” by Charlotte Cooper
▪︎ “Unshrinking” by Kate Manne
▪︎ “Fat Talk” by Virginia Sole-Smith
▪︎ “Fat Girls Hiking” by Summer Michaud-Skog
▪︎ “Fat Girls in Black Bodies” by Joy Arlene Renee Cox

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🎶 Prepare to get lost in the rhythm of TO HER OWN BEAT by Brinda Shah forthcoming from Chronicle Kids on April 13th, 202...
08/12/2026

🎶 Prepare to get lost in the rhythm of TO HER OWN BEAT by Brinda Shah forthcoming from Chronicle Kids on April 13th, 2027!

🎨 Cover illustration by Kush

📖 About the Book 📖

Thirteen-year-old Sumati Soni knows how to be a good kid.

She holds her tongue when relatives comment on her body. Stays quiet when a classmate throws hurtful words her way. Ignores those who make her Bharatanatyam dance class feel like torture.

She knows she should always show respect—after all, her name means “good thoughts” in Sanskrit—and she tries to express herself through poetry and dance without offending anyone. But as she prepares to perform a solo in dance class and at her sister’s wedding, the pressure builds. Even the people she hoped would be on her side, including her best friend and her mother, don’t seem to have her back.

Now Sumati must learn to speak up and confront the generational beauty standards that have shaped how she sees herself—or continue to be weighed down by it all.

🌟 TO HER OWN BEAT is available to pre-order now! This heartfelt celebration of dance, body positivity, and self-expression would be a welcome addition to any shelf!

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⚠️ Federal Book Banning Bills—both old and new—are advancing through the House and Senate, and your attention/action is ...
08/11/2026

⚠️ Federal Book Banning Bills—both old and new—are advancing through the House and Senate, and your attention/action is needed more than ever.

Are you wondering what H.R. 7661, S.4925, and Arkansas Act 372 are? We have some basic primers for you to learn more about these dangerous proposed bills and law amendments. We encourage you to read up more on these bills/laws for further information.

If you want to take action against book banning bills today, you can check out the EveryLibrary website, where you can find easy ways to contact your legislators, representatives, and senators via email; templates to send postcards; and open petitions against these bills that you can sign.

🚨 action.everylibrary.org

🗒️ About H.R. 7661

- A national book censorship bill that would prohibit the use of public school funding to create any programming, activities, or promotion of literature to underage children that includes “sexually oriented material”. The bill specifically defines “sexually oriented material” as anything broaching topics of “gender dysphoria or transgenderism”. (Not a real word.)

🗒️ About S.4925

- A companion bill to H.R. 2616, also known as the “Stop the S*xualization of Children Act”. Proposes that public schools get stripped of their funding for using any books deemed “inappropriate” or “sexually oriented”. Would also make exemptions for “classical works of literature”, defined as books published prior to 1990 and listed in “Great Works of the Western World” OR to books endorsed by Christian homeschooling publisher Compass Classroom.

🗒️ About Arkansas Act 372

- Amends Arkansas law to include librarians and booksellers as being among those who can be criminally charged for “distributing or providing materials deemed harmful to minors”. Anyone can challenge the “appropriateness” of any materials for any reason. What’s more, these challenges are NOT limited to Arkansas residents; anyone from anywhere in the U.S. can lodge complaints about “harmful materials” for any reason.

What are you doing to take action against book bans and protect educators/librarians in your community?

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🚨 Calling All Romance Authors!Romancing the Craft is a one-day conference aimed toward marginalized unpublished and publ...
08/07/2026

🚨 Calling All Romance Authors!

Romancing the Craft is a one-day conference aimed toward marginalized unpublished and published romance authors which offers them programming to develop their craft, to learn from masters of the genre, and advance their careers through valuable networking opportunities with peers and other industry professionals.

📆 DATE: Saturday, September 12th
📍 LOCATION: Fordham University at Lincoln Center

All tickets will be general admission tickets, giving attendees access to the following:

- Masterclass Workshop: Passion, Purpose, Power: Storytelling with Scene and Sequel with Gregory Ashe
- Keynote Luncheon Industry Panel with authors, editors, agents

Breakout Sessions 1:

- Writing Respectful Representation with Nisha Sharma OR
- Crash Course on Romance Publishing Today: A Brief Overview of the Important Basics + The State of the Romance Market as it Stands Today with Sarah Younger (Senior Agent - Nancy Yost Literary Agency)

Breakout Sessions 2:

- Fantasy Doorways: How to Enter Your Fantasy Worlds with Zoraida Córdova OR
- The Most Important Relationship that’s Not the Romance: Narrative Point of View, Craft, and the Romance Market with Kate Clayborn

- Pitching sessions with agents and publishing staff
- Cocktail mixer

Click the link below (or in RTC’s bio) to get your tickets today!

❤️ bit.ly/RTC-2026

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10319 Westlake Drive, #104
Bethesda, MD
20817

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