Note: I’m taking part in an awesome blog-a-thon hosted by a local-to-me freelance writer, Michelle Rafter. The Wordcount Blogathon is its fifth year and loads of bloggers in all sorts of niches participate.

This is my first time taking part, though I’ve lurked on discussions for a couple of years. The goal is to post on your blog every day in the month of May. My personal goal with that is to experiment with different types of posts. Our weekly “List-O-Rama” feature has been tremendously popular, so I’m thinking about ways to do more of that sort of content. I’m also hoping to do more commentary and opinion-type writing here and do more sharing-type posts. So, expect more content from me, in addition to our regular schedule of reviews and commentary from Laura and Sandra. We’ll see what sticks after these 31 days. 

Y’all know that Sarah Ockler is 100% awesome, right?

This point is even more proven with the outstanding blog post about diversity (or more specifically, lack thereof) in young adult literature. 

But the discussion glosses over an obvious gap: white authors.

Demographically speaking, caucasians comprise the majority of young adult authors (according to Zetta Elliot’s 2011 interview with author Jacqueline Woodson, people of color make up less than 5 percent of children’s book authors published in the U.S. annually). So when you look at the sea of white stretching on forever along the shores of YA literature, know that white authors are by and large the ones putting it out there.