Friday, September 7, 2012

Separate, Not Equal

An It's Complicated! — Book Covers guest post by author Coe Booth.


Coe Booth
Like most writers I’m always a little — okay, a lot! — nervous about what my book covers will look like. After spending so much time writing the books, the fact that the cover image is out of my control leads to a great deal of anxiety. However, I was pleasantly surprised and happy when I saw the cover of my first novel Tyrell.

I really thought the photo of a teenage boy looking out onto his neighborhood would attract the attention of the audience I had in mind when I was writing the book — teenagers, especially boys, who don’t usually find a book that speaks to them. And I’ve since heard from lots of teens who tell me that it was the cover that initially drew them to the book.

The thing I never imagined was that the cover (and the covers of my subsequent books) might create an automatic ghettoization of my work.

I can’t tell you how many libraries I’ve been to where my books are not even shelved in the mainstream YA section. They are relegated to the shelf labeled “Street Lit” where the books about black people live. The same is true in some bookstores where a black person on a book cover means it’s no longer YA; it’s “Urban Fiction”.

I’m here to tell you, when it comes to books, segregation is alive and well in America.

Obviously, while I’m not in love with the terms “Street Lit” or “Urban Fiction,” I’ve come to accept — very reluctantly — that my books will be shelved there. But I really, really mind when my books are only shelved there. It’s so frustrating to know that my readership is being limited this way, that only those actively seeking “urban” books will find them, that there’s no chance of somebody just stumbling across one of my books on the shelves and deciding to give it a try.

And I think a book’s cover has a lot to do with these shelving decisions. Perhaps there’s something about a photo of a black boy in braids or a black girl looking at a playground that makes people think this can’t possibly be mainstream fiction. Personally, I don’t understand that. And I don’t understand why this problem seems to be more common in YA fiction than in books for children or adults.

I do know that as an author who would like my books to have as wide an appeal as possible, it’s upsetting to know that my books are sometimes being treated as second-class citizens, and not because of its content but because of the cover image.

Another consequence of having a black person on the cover of a book is that, inevitably, it will be used as part of a Black History Month display in a library or school, regardless of whether the book has anything to do with black history at all. It makes me wonder if anyone even bothers reading the books. Sigh.

These problems aside, every time I see a new book with a black or brown child on the cover, I’m happy. When I was growing up, there were so few books about kids who looked like me, and very few of them were contemporary. Kids and teens today have so many more choices, and I’d like to see even more in the coming years. 

I just hope those books will be accessible and discoverable by everyone!

30 comments:

  1. Sad fact but its true. I fear I will have the same complications once my LGBT story becomes published. This reminds me of something Samuel L. Jackson said in "A Time to Kill" It impacted me so hard, it changed the way thought forever. He said (and I'm paraphrasing), "Why does it have to be "black man" Why can't I just be a man?" Why can our stories just be YA fiction...period.

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    1. Oh, when Samuel L. Jackson said that, it broke my heart! And it fits this situation so well.

      Sigh.

      Thanks, Dana. I hope your work finds a wide, accepting audience! :-)

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    2. It seems tragically antique to me. Musicians jumped this line a few generations ago and iTunes sealed the deal. Music is categorized and sold by genre, not by the musicians' genetic heritage or gender-appeal--or even age group (once you graduate from Sesame Street anyway.) And no one is astounded when one person loves a variety of genres.

      I often rearrange book shelves. I face different things out. I apologize to all my librarian and bookstore friends...but every writer I have ever admitted that to has laughed and said this: "So do I."

      I, too, hope your books find many readers. If I get a chance, I will...you know...

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    3. Thanks, Kathleen. I do the same thing! :-)

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  2. I feel you. It definitely does limit your audience. As a reader, I usually walk by the urban lit section, since I have no interest in urban dramas. It never hit me that they might stick, y/a, fantasy, mysteries and any other genre of book in that section just because it was about black people. That's got to change.

    I never understood the need for a black section in a bookstore to begin with. They never had that when I was a kid and I certainly had no problem finding books.

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    1. I think the libraries and bookstores believe they're helping people find the kind of books they like. But the end result is that others are NOT finding books they might like if they were ever exposed to them.

      Thanks for your feedback, Hari.

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  3. I'm not sure why we even need categorizations (beyond fiction/non-fiction, etc.) at all. Growing up, the library where I lived just shelved books by this basic grouping and I loved walking up and down the aisles and picking out anything that spoke to me. I read mysteries and fiction and classics and fantasy without knowing that's what I was selecting and I would have missed many books that I love if they had been broken down into these marketing categories.

    I really don't understand why a library needs to "sell" books by categories, and I wish bookstores didn't see the need to classify books like this, either. There are too many categories that then get missed. If there is an "urban" section, then where are the black/white/hispanic/asian suburban and rural sections? Or the urban fantasy books as opposed to the medieval fantasy?

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  4. That is horrible! I didn't even realize libraries had these segregations. Growing up we never had that, and quite frankly I don't see why we even have all these different categorizations in the first place. It's confusing, and having them may also prevent kids from reading stories they might other wise really connect with, because they can't find the book they're looking for.. It's just wrong to me to put a YA book in a different area just because the cover model is black. Segregating books is wrong, at least in my eyes. Great post and thank you for sharing this! I learned something new from it.

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  5. Hi Coe!
    First of all, I love the cover and the creative title of your newest-Bronxwood. Secondly, what a drag about the shelving and labeling issue. Who would've thought an author would have to deal with that in this day and age.
    Catherine Stine’s Idea City

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  6. Grinding my teeth, Coe! This is the equivalent of the dreaded "multicultural" shelves in the middle grade universe. Kiss of death, and all too common.

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    1. Oh dear. I couldn't agree with you more, Uma. The "multicultural" shelf is really a terrible idea. Talk about good intentions gone bad!

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  7. I love how Powells handles the YA section. All the fiction is shelved together but most new titles with a POC on the cover are put face out. LGBTQ titles usually have a rainbow shelf talker. They sometimes do read-alike shelf talkers, so at the moment because of Hunger Games they flag other dystopian novels. They're great about flagging regional books too. I wish more bookstores did it this way, but Powells has the luxury of space that most stores don't.

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  8. Well said, Coe. Your stories have universal appeal, and so should be displayed and read across the entire literary universe -- to infinity and beyond! -- and not just during Black History Month. I don't know if I'll live to see the day, but I do think we're headed toward a post-tribal world, where the only thing that matters is the person and their story. One can only hope . . .

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  9. This is no only disturbing, but such a disservice to potential readers. As someone who teaches alternative education to high school students, I can tell you that the most popular books among my students include Kendra, anything by Jacqueline Woodson and anything by Walter Dean Meyers (especially Monster). Did I mention that I teach in a low income rural school district? These kids come from families where having an incarcerated parent is the norm, a PO yourself a given and trips to treatment more common than a family vacation. As I'm writing this, I can't help but think of one of my students who finished reading one of Jaqueline Woodson's books, set it down on her desk, looked at me and said, "This books reads like life, doesn't it?" That's what your characters do, Coe. They read like life.

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  10. Surely there is something current and future authors can do! I plan to chat with the librarians in my neighborhood to find out if they have similar policies. Is there anything else?

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  11. Well said, Coe, and I'm proud to say that I found TYRELL in the teen section of my public library:-D

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  12. And I've noticed that my adult writing students no matter their color, are writing white main characters because they are afraid of never getting published other wise. sigh.

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    1. Amy, that's so sad to hear. But in a way it's understandable. If they write about white characters, at least their books will be granted mainstream access.

      But it's depressing that kids of color will miss out on the opportunity to see themselves (and their lives) reflected in whatever books your students may write. It just perpetuates the whole problem of there not being enough books written by and about people of color.

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  13. Yes! And you know? This not only does a limiting disservice to your amazing books, Coe, but it does a disservice to ACTUAL street lit and to librarians trying to gain credibility with teens who come looking for it. If you have a teen patron who comes in to find street lit and you give them Tyrell they are never going to trust a thing you say again. You don't even know what street lit is! We owe ALL our patrons legitimate, intelligent reader's advisory NOT "This has a black kid with cornrows on the cover, that's street lit, right?"

    And so, related to that, why shouldn't Kendra be on a "If You Like Sarah Dessen..." or "If You Like Ellen Hopkins..." booklist? It's the story of a teenage girl trying to make peace with her parents and figure out who she is and what she wants out of her life and romantic desires. Aren't we selling our teen readers short by not including it?

    Tyrell is on my "Great Reads for High School Students" list because that's exactly what it is and who it's for, period, full-stop.

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    1. Thanks, Angie!

      You've brought up another point I was going to make, but I was afraid my post would become dissertation length! I'm always happy when libraries choose my books for lists, but they're always on the "Street Lit" list, and hardly ever on the "Looking for Love" list.

      If someone is looking for a book that deals with romance from a boy's point of view, they will never find Tyrell or Bronxwood (or other books with a black person on the cover!) because those books are ONLY on the "Urban Fiction" list. There's no crossover. I wish the list makers would broaden their scope and look beyond the cover (or the setting) to find out what the books are really ABOUT!

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  14. It's important to note the word "only" in Coe's phrase, "when my books are only shelved there." Perhaps the problem has to do with marketing and display--getting books noticed. Displays of books about diverse characters are meant to help readers discover these books more easily (basic marketing, right?) and that is, obviously, good. But it's when *every* copy is relegated to this separate area that the issue becomes problematic. My picture book WINNIE FINN, WORM FARMER is sometimes shelved with "nature" books, and this means those browsing the main picture book area won't come across it. (Of course I realize that this comparison only goes so far because it doesn't address sensitive issues like race and diversity, but still.) The solution--two shelves, two categories with copies in both? What other remedies would you recommend? Let's hear some viable suggestions for booksellers and librarians about how books with diverse characters *should* be handled.

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  15. I appreciate the fact that your cover does portray dark skinned youth, which match the characters in your novels. Too often, characters are white washed on the covers, to make them more "appealing" to a white audience.

    I agree 100 percent that your books--and any "street lit" authors' books for that matter--should not only be shelved in urban literature sections. Readers everywhere can explore diverse cultures through literature. I wish libraries and bookstores did more to help "mainstream" readers find diverse literature.

    I read "Bronxwood" and feel in love with Tyrell. He's a great kid, whom I think any reader (especially those with absent parents) can relate to.

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  16. Oh, it gets worse. At my downtown library, I searched and searched for a novel by Sister Souljah I wanted to read. I couldn't find it, so I asked at the desk. I'm a white, middle-aged guy, by the way. The clerk leans across the desk and says, "We have to keep that kind of book behind the counter. Those people just steal them."

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  17. I never even knew books were being categorised like this. I think it helps living in Ireland. Our bookstores just have a "Teenage" section which has everything from all kinds of YA authors.

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  18. As a new YA author, I understand your frustration. I realize I'll soon be facing the same issue. However...as a librarian in a large metropolitan library, I believe Black consumers share part of the blame for this "segregation".

    I can't begin to count the number of times I've had Black customers come to me and ask where they can find the "African American" books. I see this across the board--be it adult fiction, YA, or children's titles. When I tell customers we don't have a "Black" section, that all books are shelved according to genre/subject, I invaribly get the "look", as in "Well, why don't you have a section for us? Aren't we important enough?"

    Do book sellers and library staff need to be educated about this disparity in how books are marketed? Yes, absolutely. But, I think as writers who want to sell books, we also need to educate our fan base. Hopefully, people reading your blog will take note.

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  19. Thanks for this post! I am going to share it with the youth at a detention center library where I volunteer. I think it is important that youth be a part of this critical conversation. For many youth at the center, your books spark a love of reading. And it is not a love that is limited to 'urban fiction.'

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