We Need Diverse Middle Grade

Welcome to the home page for our series We Need Diverse Middle Grade (WNDMG), where we archive all our WNDMG posts.

Our mission: We celebrate and promote diversity in middle-grade books, and we examine the issues preventing better equity and inclusion on the middle-grade bookshelf. We intend to amplify and honor all diverse voices.

We Need Diverse Middle Grade posts once a month, drawing on work from our own team of contributors as well as from guest authors, editors, agents, teachers, librarians, and booksellers. You can count on our presence here on Mixed-Up Files to shine a light on the stories, work, and truth of all those who are still underrepresented in this field. You’ll be able to recognize our monthly posts by seeing our WNDMG logo: the diverse world we envision. Our artwork is by contributor Aixa Perez-Prado.

Guest Posts for We Need Diverse Middle Grade

If you’re interested in being considered for a guest post slot on WNDMG, please feel free to email: mufcommunications@gmail.com. Please Note: We do not pay for guest blog posts.

Latest from the Blog

  • WNDMG Author Interview: Getting to Know Crystal Allen
    WNDMG Author Interview: Getting to Know Crystal Allen
    June 10, 2026 by
    Let’s welcome Crystal Allen to the Middle Grade Mixed-Up Files! She’s written five books for middle-graders, including The Magnificent Mya Tibbs series. Join us as she dishes on writing, her career and other fun stuff. Read on!   You were born in a military hospital in Germany. How long did you live in Germany before moving to the States? Yes! My father was in the Army and was stationed for training at an Army base in Kitzingen, Germany. I was only there long enough to be born and ready to travel back to the States. What are you working on now? I’m working on a paranormal MG story. What was the inspiration for this story? It’s based on a true story that happened to me while doing a residency at the James Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio. It’s been difficult creating this story for a middle-grade audience, but I won’t give up! 😊 What is your writing process like? I...
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  • WNDMG Author Interview: Seema Yasmin on her series Muslim Mavericks
    WNDMG Author Interview: Seema Yasmin on her series Muslim Mavericks
    April 8, 2026 by
    Author Interview – Seema Yasmin I’m so excited to be able to introduce you to author Seema Yasmin today. We are going to be talking about the start of her new series, Muslim Mavericks, spotlighting actress and comedian Maysoon Zayid, and launching from Salaam Reads / Simon and Schuster Kids on February 10, 2026. I am excited to discuss this series with Seema and encourage everyone to buy a copy for themselves and their classrooms and libraries.   About MAYSOON ZAYID, THE GIRL WHO CAN CAN: Description taken from online: From the prolific Pulitzer Prize–nominated Muslim reporter Dr. Seema Yasmin...
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  • Through the Eyes of Gen Z
    Through the Eyes of Gen Z
    March 11, 2026 by
    When we embark upon our journey as storytellers, we become part of the writing community at large. Each of us seeks to build relationships with not only our audiences, but also long to engage with other creatives across multiple mediums. As middle-grade authors, it is so important for us to stay connected with our readers and understand life through their eyes. People make sense of the world around them based on their own lived experiences, but if I have learned anything from my kids, it’s that the younger generation has just as much to offer us as we have to...
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  • WNDMG Author Interview: Charlotte Watson Sherman
    WNDMG Author Interview: Charlotte Watson Sherman
    February 11, 2026 by
    Let’s give a warm welcome to Charlotte Watson Sherman, a former librarian and author of children’s picture and middle-grade books. She’s going to dish about her latest works and share her best librarian recommendations for middle-grade readers to enjoy during Black History Month and beyond. So, settle in and enjoy! Tell me about This Opening Sky. How did the idea for the book come about? This Opening Sky is a middle-grade verse novel about two 12-year-old girls – one Black, one White – coping with the end of the Civil War. Aurelia, the daughter of a plantation owner, has lost...
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