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: 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 both parents. Halle, newly freed, is searching for her parents. The girls decide to travel North together and confront misconceptions about each other as they depend on each other for survival.   The book came about after my co-author, Kelly Hollman, submitted a manuscript to Bushel and Peck Books. They liked the story’s premise, but wanted to include a Black...
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  • WNDMG Author Interview: Khushboo Patel on her Verse Novel ALL THAT CHANDNI KNOWS
    WNDMG Author Interview: Khushboo Patel on her Verse Novel ALL THAT CHANDNI KNOWS
    December 10, 2025 by
      Author Interview – Khushboo Patel I’m so excited to be able to introduce you to author Khushboo Patel today. Khushboo is a debut author of a gorgeous new middle grade novel in verse as well as a couple picture books, and I had the honor of reading (and blurbing) her gorgeous MG book! Her title is called “All That Chandni Knows” which launches from G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers/ Penguin Kids on March 31, 2026. I absolutely loved every bit of this book— the verse, the plot, the character, the voice. I find myself always searching for...
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  • How to Free a Jinn book cover
    DOUBLE DOSE of WNDMG!!! Author Interviews with Raidah Shah Idil and Yxavel Magna Dino!
    November 12, 2025 by
    November’s typically filled with so much to do! Some households just finished celebrating Dia de Los Muertos, while others are saluting the veterans in their lives. Others are already planning Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or any other -Givings Day dinners! Yet those in the bookish community simply wait for all the incredible new releases that embrace the family spirit. And what better way to celebrate family this month than with a double dose of WNDMG book releases! We recognize that publishing is an incredibly difficult pursuit and that journey can be even harder for international authors. Yet, despite all odds, I have...
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  • WNDMG Author Interview: Pablo Cartaya
    WNDMG Author Interview: Pablo Cartaya
    October 8, 2025 by
    Let’s give a warm welcome to Pablo Cartaya for joining us at the Mixed-Up Files blog. Pablo is an internationally acclaimed author, screenwriter, speaker, and educator. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC, and on Oprah’s Booklist. Thank you so much for joining us! It’s a pleasure to have you. Let’s talk about your books and writing! Pablo! You have had some of the coolest jobs! Umm, Ricky Martin’s body double, for one? When do you find the time to write? Seriously, do you have a daily schedule, or is it buckle down because...
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