Clear and Not Weird

Jess and Trisha talk about the impact of anti-Black racism in publishing, an RWA awards decision, and books we love by Black authors. Plus! We announce a new book club pick!

This episode is sponsored by Hey YA, Book Riot’s own podcast about all things young adult lit; Book Riot Insiders, the digital hangout spot for the Book Riot community; and TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations, Book Riot’s personalized reading recommendation service, which now has gifting!

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News

#PublishingPaidMe has illustrated the systemic racism in publishing.

Lee and Low helped quantify it by posting their data about the appallingly low number of Black authors and publishing professionals.

RWA has dropped the RITA and replaced it with the Vivian, a new award named for RWA founder Vivian Stephens.

Books Discussed

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon

That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert

Pink Slip by Katrina Jackson

Wherever You Are Are by Elle Wright

So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon

In Case You Forgot by Frederick Smith and Chaz Lamar

Getting Schooled by Christina C. Jones (read it now for our July book club discussion!)

As always, you can find Jess and Trisha at the WIR email address (wheninromance@bookriot.com). You can also find us on Twitter (@jessisreading and @trishahaleybrwn), or Instagram (@jess_is_reading and @trishahaleybrown).