Book Expo America (“BEA”) is the leading North American publishing event, bringing publishers, authors, distributors and readers together in one location, the force of which sets standards for the whole publishing industry.
In an attempt to bring more readers to BEA, producers of the event created BookCon (formerly Power Readers Day), where readers can interact with their favorite authors at panels, Q&As, and book-signings.
That is, if their favorite authors are straight, white men.
28 out of the 29 guest authors on BookCon’s original line-up were white. The other was Grumpy Cat.
Read more about why diversity in publishing matters to bloggers and what we can all do to help fix this problem on my longer post over at BlogHer.com.
About Queerie Bradshaw
Lauren Marie Fleming is a writer, speaker and motivator known for her intimate, informative and often hilarious look at sex, relationships and body-image. Lauren runs the critically-acclaimed QueerieBradshaw.com blog, writes for major news sources including VICE, Nerve, Huffington Post and Curve, and is the author of her memoir Losing It: My Life as a Sex Blogger. In 2013, Lauren founded Frisky Feminist Press (FriskyFeminist.com) as a way to enhance conversations about sexuality through educational guides, online classes and entertaining publications. A law school graduate, Lauren has spoken all over the United States and is internationally recognized for her dynamic, engaging style. In everything she does, Lauren’s goal is to educate, remove stigmas and encourage people to achieve their desires.
