Searching For Our Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin is a Taiwanese-American, Los Angeles born, Harvard educated, undrafted NBA point guard who rose to unexpected stardom on the New York Knicks (he’s now a member of the Houston Rockets). A little over a year ago, in February 2012, Lin had a moment in history that transcended sports and race and became a worldwide phenomenon affectionately referred to as “Linsanity.” This meteoric rise is best encapsulated in the CBS “60 Minutes” special that recently aired. In a nutshell: Lin went from bench-warming obscurity to international sensation as he led the New York Knicks on a winning streak that defied all odds. In his 12 starts before the All-Star break, Lin averaged 22.5 points and 8.7 assists, and New York had a 9–3 record. Jeremy Lin is one of the few Asian Americans in NBA history, and the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. 

Diversity in the News

May 2nd—May 9th, 2013

ON OUR RADAR

• Lionsgate Acquires Film Rights for R.J. Palacio's Wonder via the CBC
• This, That, Both, Neither: The Badging of Biracial Identity in Young Adult Realism at YALSA
• YA Author Maureen Johnson Calls for an End to Gendered Cover Designs with a "Coverflip" Challenge via the CBC
• Racial and gender inequalities in YA literature covered in new issue of YALSA's Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults at American Libraries Magazine
• Historical fiction starring girls at the Horn Book
• Amazing TED talk: “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie
• The “Radioactive Energy” of Bullies | An Interview with Meg Medina via SLJ
• Award-Winning Author Fredrick McKissack Dies at 73 via the Brown Bookshelf; also at SLJ; great video interview with Patricia and Frederick via Reading Rockets
• DiversifYA: Michelle Smith – the author of Kingdom Come (May 22) talks about mental illness and stigma. More great interviews here.

Industry Q&A with author Valerie Hobbs

Tell us about your most recent book and how you came to write it.

My most recent book is Minnie McClary Speaks Her Mind. Like most authors, I invest a lot of myself in my characters and I've had a lot to say apparently about things that aren't right, that should be right. About how people should be treated regardless of ethnicity, gender, class, disability, sexual orientation, etc., etc. And I believe that children should be encouraged to think, not just fill in bubbles on state-mandated standardized tests. Miss Marx, Minnie's teacher, is the kind of teacher I wish I had been when I taught middle-school years ago. She encourages the students to think, to question, and to write about the things that concern them. It takes courage, especially these days, to be the kind of teacher she is.

Do you think of yourself as a diverse author?

I hadn't, I suppose because as a white woman I'm not considered "diverse", but my beliefs certainly fall into that camp.