Posts Tagged booksellers

The Literary Community Supports Minneapolis 

By on February 1, 2026   /   Oh MG News  
Middle Grade Authors

 

As we watch chilling news footage of ICE agents in Minneapolis, we are both horrified by the brutality and heartened by the thousands of individuals braving extreme temperatures to raise a unified voice in an effort to protect their neighbors and reclaim their city. 

Among those affected by the chaos, we find independent bookstores struggling to maintain sales, school librarians trying to nurture and protect their students, and members of the publishing industry stepping up to lend a hand. The broader literary community can help Minneapolis by staying informed and offering support.

 

Support Minneapolis Booksellers

According to a January 16 Publishers Weekly article, most bookstores admit that the presence of ICE agents in their neighborhoods has had a negative impact on business. However, they have remained open “as people come in looking for information, resources, and whistles” or for a quiet space to rest and gather their thoughts.

Some booksellers are going a step further. A January 28 Publishers Weekly article introduces Greg Ketter, owner of DreamHaven Books and Comics. When a local news station aired footage of Ketter, age 70, marching through tear gas and cursing at ICE agents near the site of Alex Petti’s death, the video went viral. DreamHaven’s website crashed from all the attention it received, and the store’s sales have increased tenfold over a typical January. 

Looking to order a book from an indie bookstore? You might consider supporting the booksellers on the front lines and ordering from a Minneapolis bookstore. To help you get started, here’s a list of local bookstores in the Twin Cities.

 

Support Minneapolis Librarians

Schools in Minneapolis are feeling the stress. According to a January 20 School Library Journal article, entire school communities are actively supporting frightened students and families. School librarians are facilitating online learning and curating lists of books to help students process difficult emotions and understand pertinent history.

The Information and Technology Educators of Minnesota, a division of the Minnesota Library Association, sent an email out to librarians and advocates. They thanked librarians for the work they are doing. And for those of us living outside the area, they shared ways to “support affected families and communities, including donating to a local food pantry, assisting an organization that is sending kids free books, patronizing MSP BIPOC-owned and immigrant-owned businesses, and calling legislators.”

 

The Literary Community’s Efforts to Support Minneapolis 

You may have heard about the recent Publishing for Minnesota Auction. The auction ran from January 29 to January 30 and included consultations with agents and authors, AMA sessions, portfolio reviews, critiques, autographed books, author visits, and more. According to the site, proceeds will “support organizations providing legal aid, emergency assistance, food, and community resources to those in urgent need.”

But what if you missed the window for this auction? Are there still more ways to help? Absolutely. For those wanting to lend help, PEN America has put together an article about the many ways the literary community is stepping up to support Minneapolis. They also mention ways you can lend your support, “whether through donations, buying books, or reading about their experiences.”

While the effects of this present crisis are unimaginably stressful for the people of Minneapolis, it is reassuring to know that as protesters speak out against the assault on their neighbors, booksellers, schools, and librarians are actively caring for their communities. Let’s support them in any way we can.

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Diversity in MG Lit #13 A Look At the Numbers

By on January 15, 2020   /   Articles, Diversity, For Librarians, For Teachers, For Writers, independent bookstores  

I am so happy to be back at the Mixed Up Files after a hiatus of a few months. I wanted to kick off the new decade of my series Diversity in MG Lit with a look at the numbers. Many of you are familiar with this infographic from Reflection Press by Maya Gonzalez. I like this one because it shows both where we are and how far we need to go to achieve something that looks like equity.

The number of books published in a given year don’t tell the whole story. Here are some other statistics that give both a fuller and a more encouraging picture.
  1. The NY Public Library recently published its list of the 10 most checked out books in NYPL history. Obviously this structure gives great advantage to the oldest books. Even so the number one spot went to The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats first published in 1962.  Fifty-eight years ago it was the first picture boy to feature a black boy as a main character. It was popular immediately and has been ever since As a bookseller I listen to authors and illustrators a lot. Hundreds of them over the years and many of our most prominent POC writers and illustrators, black men in particular, have pointed to The Snowy Day as a seminal influence on their work and their belief that there was a place for them in the world of books.
  2. The Flying Start feature of Publishers Weekly is designed to highlight up and coming authors and illustrators. In 2019 the Spring Flying Start list featured  2 of 5 or 40% diverse writers including Tina Athaide for Orange for the Sunset and Carlos Hernandez for Sal & Gabi Break the Universe. The Fall Flying Starts included 4 of 6 or 66% diverse creators: Brittney Morris for Slay, Christine Day for I Can Make This Promise, Joowon Oh for Our Favorite Day, and Kwame Mbalia for Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky,
  3. Our newest National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature is Jason Reynolds, a brilliant choice. Even better, his selection makes 4 of the 7 people (57%) to hold this position Persons of Color. The others are Walter Dean Myers, Gene Luen Yang, & Jacqueline Woodson. 
  4. The American Booksellers Association holds its Children’s Institute every spring. In 2019 five out of seven (71%) keynote or featured presenters were POC. Of the 67 authors and illstrators that publishers brought to the conference to meet independent children’s booksellers from all over the country, 38 or 57% were of diverse backgrounds. (including disabled and LGBT+)
  5. The National Council of Teachers of English was held in November of 2019. Seven of their 10 keynote speakers were diverse. If you looked at all 28 of their featured speakers, you’d find 57% of them were POC.
  6. And finally the 2020 midwinter American Library Association will meet in just a few weeks. This year all six of their featured speakers are diverse. 100%!
I find those data points encouraging. We still have a long way to go, but it is nice to see that teachers, librarians and booksellers are taking leadership in demanding a more diverse representation at our professional conferences. And if you are wondering what you can do—just one person—to make a difference I have three suggestions.
  • Buy diverse books from an independent bookstore. Big box and on line retailers are never going to care about the welfare of authors or readers of any demographic. Indie booksellers do care and they have consistently over decades proven the best venue for making best sellers of little known or debuting authors.
  • Take a moment on social media to call out the folks that are working hard to help diverse books find parity. I’ll start: Hey fellow Portlanders our 2020 Everybody Reads author is Tommy Orange who wrote There There. He is Cheyenne and Arapaho and lives the urban Indian experience in California. His book is amazing! I can’t wait to talk about it with my neighbors and friends.
  • If you don’t see a diverse book you love in your school or library or bookstore, ask for it. Ask regularly. Schools, libraries and bookstores are here to serve you, the public. We spend a lot of time thinking and talking about what you want and what you need. Help us out! Change comes when we stand up and say something.
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