Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #OwnVoices
Most recents (24)
I read over 100 books in 2021 and here were some of my favorite examples of disability representation among the novels (some of which are #OwnVoices) #BookRecommendations #DisabilityTwitter đ§”(1/8)
The Kiss Quotient series by Helen Hoang is a spicy and fun romance series with multiple autistic characters (2/8)
Becky Chambersâ Wayfarers series has awesome commentary on bodies, eugenics, body modification/prosthetics, and diversity (in space, with aliens) (3/8)
Have you had a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that has permanently changed your cognition? I'd like to pay you to write about what it's like to develop an acquired neurodivergent neurotype due to brain injury.
I am gathering #ownvoices accounts of various ND experiences. DM me!!
I am gathering #ownvoices accounts of various ND experiences. DM me!!
Specifically, I'd like to pay you between 50 and 200 dollars (need-based) to write a "landing page" for TBI's on my website. This will be the first thing people see when they click into the TBI section.
Will you write this for me? coda.io/@mykola-bilokoâŠ
Will you write this for me? coda.io/@mykola-bilokoâŠ
Note: if you've had a TBI that has changed the way your brain works but you don't realize that this makes you a neurodivergent person, welcome to the movement!
We are fighting for non-pathologizing support and acceptance for all people regardless of neurology.
We are fighting for non-pathologizing support and acceptance for all people regardless of neurology.
Someone DM'd me talking about their Autistic and Down Syndrome brother, who was dismissed with "severe retardation" by doctors. They have since learned to understand that his inner life is different than they were taught, thanks to neurodiversity.
But problem:
But problem:
They offered to write a post for my website about the ways that "Profound" Autism would impact their brother, and the ways that medical erasure of complex inner life has caused irreparable harm to him.
But he's not able to really contribute himself, so I declined.
But he's not able to really contribute himself, so I declined.
I declined because I am committed to publishing #ownVoices perspectives.
But the very real truth is that there are people out there whose stories need to be told and who simply cannot tell them themselves.
So by sticking to this principle, am I erasing them?
But the very real truth is that there are people out there whose stories need to be told and who simply cannot tell them themselves.
So by sticking to this principle, am I erasing them?
1/12 Todayâs announcement from @diversebooks is part of a critical conversation about identity and representation. diversebooks.org/why-we-need-diâŠ
2/12 #ownvoices has been a powerful movement to raise awareness about the importance of authors being able to tell their own stories. It has called for publishers to recognize this importance and to be more inclusive.
3/12 It spotlights the ways authors who share the same identities of the characters/people theyâre writing about often do this with a level of nuance and care that does not happen otherwise.
Okay, Twitter-Thread-Time. Wenn ich bitte mal die Aufmerksamkeit der Twitter-Literatur-Bubble haben dĂŒrfte. Wir mĂŒssen reden. Und damit meine ich sowohl Autor:innen, Agent:innen, Verlagsmitarbeitende & das Feuilleton, als Kritiker:innen. 
2/
Kurze Vorgeschichte von meiner Seite: Ende vergangenen Jahres las ich die ersten beiden Teile des "Aurora Cycle" von Amie Kaufman und Jay Kristoff. (Es ist eine Esemble-Story, daher gibt es mehrere Hauptcharaktere.)
Kurze Vorgeschichte von meiner Seite: Ende vergangenen Jahres las ich die ersten beiden Teile des "Aurora Cycle" von Amie Kaufman und Jay Kristoff. (Es ist eine Esemble-Story, daher gibt es mehrere Hauptcharaktere.)
3/
Was mich besonders an den BĂŒchern einnahm, abgesehen von der Geschichte und der Welt die ich kurz mit "weird and wonderful" umschreiben möchte, war die (oft) selbstverstĂ€ndliche Art, mit der Anders-Sein dargestellt wurde.
Was mich besonders an den BĂŒchern einnahm, abgesehen von der Geschichte und der Welt die ich kurz mit "weird and wonderful" umschreiben möchte, war die (oft) selbstverstĂ€ndliche Art, mit der Anders-Sein dargestellt wurde.
Welcome to my final #RevPit #10Queries for this contest! First, a summary of my submission age categories & genres, a guide to abbreviations, then some general observations.
My abbreviations:
MG=Middle Grade
YA=Young Adult
đ=Romance
đ=Contemporary
âł=Historical
đ”đœâââ=Mystery
đ±=Thriller/Horror
Q=Query
M=Manuscript
#RevPit #10Queries
MG=Middle Grade
YA=Young Adult
đ=Romance
đ=Contemporary
âł=Historical
đ”đœâââ=Mystery
đ±=Thriller/Horror
Q=Query
M=Manuscript
#RevPit #10Queries
I will not indicate whether I would/would not request because I had too many that I wanted to request and canât have them all. Instead, Iâm giving tips on what I like and what could be improved. #RevPit #10Queries
So, this @DarkMatterzine /Nalini Haynes fuckery. Unless you're willing to be out about your marginalisation at all times, no matter the cost, you're not #OwnVoices - but more than HALF the piece is her complaining about how unfairly she was treated when SHE wasn't fully out?
Like. I'm just. It'd be a monumentally shitty (and wrong!) position to take in any case, but I'm gobsmacked that she spent SIX WHOLE PARAGRAPHS talking about how unfairly she was treated b/c others didn't realise the extent of a disability even SHE didn't know to claim fully -
- only to turn around and say, in essence, "If you, like my past self, are in denial about the extent of your disability, or nervous of/unsure about articulating your marginalisation, TOUGH FUCKING LUCK, you're NOT disabled/marginalised enough to claim it."
Okay, because I'm having some Feelings about this, let's talk about how to circumvent different ways publishing weaponizes #ownvoices and creator identities:
First, there are many agents and editors calling for #ownvoices in their subs. Ideally, this means this person is open to various (and non-monolithic) marginalized experiences--feel free to sub to them with or without mentioning #ownvoices or self-identifying...
But stay away from agents/eds/pubs that REQUIRE you to disclose--you can't trust this person to maintain your boundaries or safety.
so a few other POC authors and I have made threads on this recently and I've seen us get accused of promoting "nazi-level racial purity" in books and being ABLEIST for not telling white authors EXACTLY what to do besides this
those are examples of failing the challenge.
those are examples of failing the challenge.
White writers, you really wanna know what to do?
- Preorder and promote POC-authored books
- Don't act like white authors are the only ones who exist and thus it will be some sort of devastating blow to diversity in books if they take a step back from writing POC stories
1/?
- Preorder and promote POC-authored books
- Don't act like white authors are the only ones who exist and thus it will be some sort of devastating blow to diversity in books if they take a step back from writing POC stories
1/?
- Understand the difference between writing from a POC perspective and having POC characters in your story
- Understand the frustration of white-authored POC stories getting more favored than #ownvoices ones bc they will inherently appeal more to the white gatekeepers
2/?
- Understand the frustration of white-authored POC stories getting more favored than #ownvoices ones bc they will inherently appeal more to the white gatekeepers
2/?
I wish there was a way to go "woah hold up, this book thing is harmful, could we not, please" without immediately making every marginalized #ownvoices author panic that they'll be cancelled for vastly smaller offences than the one we are actually talking about.
But there actually isn't one at this point in time, I think, for a lot of reasons.
Like, #ownvoices authors *do* get held to a higher standard than random privileged people and held over the coals for much smaller mistakes. That's not in our imaginations.
Like, #ownvoices authors *do* get held to a higher standard than random privileged people and held over the coals for much smaller mistakes. That's not in our imaginations.
Anyway if you are an autistic author and you are feeling this panic right now, I just want to say:
(1) big mood
(2) you are NOT the problem here, trust me
(3) I'm sorry for anything I might have done to make the feeling worse.
(1) big mood
(2) you are NOT the problem here, trust me
(3) I'm sorry for anything I might have done to make the feeling worse.
I want to talk a little bit about autism in fiction because of the latest trashfire.
(Will link in thread)
Specifically, the whole subgenre of "my sibling is autistic, woe is me" MG/YA books by parents of autistic kids,
but the discussion will be a bit wider than that.
(Will link in thread)
Specifically, the whole subgenre of "my sibling is autistic, woe is me" MG/YA books by parents of autistic kids,
but the discussion will be a bit wider than that.
Now, this is bad in itself.
But what is even worse is that there are so many books like that, I honestly feel like I can call it a subgenre.
"Sibling of autistic kid comes to terms with having an extremely annoying autistic sibling"
This is terrible and yet SO common.
But what is even worse is that there are so many books like that, I honestly feel like I can call it a subgenre.
"Sibling of autistic kid comes to terms with having an extremely annoying autistic sibling"
This is terrible and yet SO common.
Welcome to the Ace Authors Chat where a panel of self-identified asexual and aromantic spectrum authors have come together in celebration of Asexual Awareness Week to discuss writing, books, and life on the ace-spectrum. @AceWeek #AceWeek #AceAuthorChat
Here's a primer on ace-inclusive terminology that you may find helpful as the #AceAuthorChat progresses:
aspec or a-spec = abbreviation of asexual/aromantic spectrum
aspec or a-spec = abbreviation of asexual/aromantic spectrum
asexuality or ace = a sexual orientation wherein an individual experiences a lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity which is distinct from abstention and celibacy and is not a form of sexual dysfunction.
My fist job interview for a #teacherlibrarian position took place at an elementary school in a very conservative part of NC. I will never forget it, in large part, b/c the principal of the school only asked me one question which was, âwould you put this book in our library?âđ§”...
As a brand new librarian, who had only ever taught middle/high school, Iâd never read Nijland and De Haanâs King and King (which is the story of a prince who is charged w/finding a princess to be his queen, but who instead falls in love w/another prince) so I gave it a quick...
read and responded w/ âI would follow district policy, but if it were up to me, yes... Iâd put it in the library.â Then I told the story of a boy I knew in the 4th grade who had 2 moms and how great it would have been for him to have access to a book like this back then. The...
#RollWithIt by Jamie Sumner: A Disabled Perspective
(I'm moving this over from GoodReads as there have been access issues.)
(I'm moving this over from GoodReads as there have been access issues.)
Right off the bat, we have the author of Wonder singing the book's praises, as well as a mildly condescending dedication of the book to kids with disabilities... Oh my...
Chapter 1 is called Symmetry. I'm side-eyeing. We don't know the MC's name before we know that she loves the Great British Bakeoff and that her mom micromanages the chewing of her food, even during a phone call. (There's no indication that MC needs this level of support.)
A gentle reminder that what an author owes you is their best work. That's it. I get the pull of parasocial relationships and how social media's accessibility makes people feel like they know an author and so are entitled to private info, but no. No more than we are to yours.đ
I'm open about certain aspects of my life and things that have happened to me because I feel moved to speak about them in the name of creating change/letting people know they're not alone--but what and how I share is something I think deeply about first.
Boundaries matter! On both sides of the author-reader relationship. đđđ They're how we maintain healthy spaces for everyone involved.
For those who want more context for how wrong Gaby Dunn is. There were a couple adult romance imprints who were putting out romance about Gay men written mostly by cis women. A lot these stories were fetishizing and racist. One publisher also just stopped paying their authors.
There was a concern that Gay men were being shut out of adult romance publishing. YA publish seems to be heading in a great direction with #ownvoices rep re race, gender and sexuality. Adult romance is still lagging in queer rep. Again this is about harmful rep. Not who is out.
When Love Simon came out I think people were nervous that YA romance was going to repeat the same pattern of shutting gay men out. Again, that's not happening. So Gaby's point is not only shitty, it's kinda incorrect.
Captain Africa was the first superhero comic I read as a child that had someone like me in it, so itâs an honour that @tordotcom let me write about its rise, fall & impact on todayâs #ownvoices superheroes from the continent. tor.com/2020/08/24/theâŠ
Some stuff that didnât make it into the piece:
Andy Akman, the Ghanaian creator of this comic, has gone AWOL since the comicâs disappearance. As in, absolutely no trace. Search for âAndy Akmanâ and every result youâll find is people like me asking, âWhere is Andy Akman?â đ€·đŸââïž
Andy Akman, the Ghanaian creator of this comic, has gone AWOL since the comicâs disappearance. As in, absolutely no trace. Search for âAndy Akmanâ and every result youâll find is people like me asking, âWhere is Andy Akman?â đ€·đŸââïž
Also, though the piece focuses heavily on comics in English-speaking African (interspersed with various indigenous languages), comics also thrived on the continent in French, Portuguese and Afrikaans-speaking countries during the same period. Truly a treasure trove.
Wuxia. Xianxia. Cultivation.
Among the hottest fiction trends today, and the genre I'm working on next.
I've been looking into the genre for years, but everywhere I looked I found too many power fantasies, too few actual wuxia.
It shows a lack of understanding of the genre. /1
Among the hottest fiction trends today, and the genre I'm working on next.
I've been looking into the genre for years, but everywhere I looked I found too many power fantasies, too few actual wuxia.
It shows a lack of understanding of the genre. /1
Wuxia should be the stuff of legends.
Highly-skilled warriors in a milieu of danger and respect. Adventure in exotic realms. A world where you can earn your place with your sword.
But beyond that, wuxia has one more element:
Ethics.
It's right there in the name.
/2
Highly-skilled warriors in a milieu of danger and respect. Adventure in exotic realms. A world where you can earn your place with your sword.
But beyond that, wuxia has one more element:
Ethics.
It's right there in the name.
/2
Wuxia is commonly translated as 'martial hero' into English.
The meaning of 'hero' is well-known.
'Martial' has a neutral connotation. It means the ways of war.
The meaning of wuxia seems obvious: a hero who uses martial arts.
But this is not what wuxia means in Chinese.
/3
The meaning of 'hero' is well-known.
'Martial' has a neutral connotation. It means the ways of war.
The meaning of wuxia seems obvious: a hero who uses martial arts.
But this is not what wuxia means in Chinese.
/3
Let's talk about pitchwars babe.
It's about time. (1/X)
It's about time. (1/X)
I love my PitchWars sibs! They're a great community. I love my mentor (and if Pintip is still the mentee liaison, she was great too!). I love what I learned about my craft going forward after doing PitchWars. It's an OVERALL positive experience. The good is better than the bad.
When you join PitchWars, do it for the stronger manuscript, for the exposure, and for the community. HOWEVER. This is not a GUARANTEED experience of PitchWars.
Still working through these, and even more convinced that they offer an essential & paradigm-altering perspective worth your time đđ»
ps I have added these and a few other books I love & recommend to my Bookshop shop because I genuinely love them & want to help support independent bookstores. Itâs an affiliate link; Iâve attached screenshots of their policy & what that means đđ» bookshop.org/shop/cecereads
My bookshop page is ~mostly so I can keep track of books I find that are actually
- good
- age-appropriate for my toddler
- by #ownvoices authors
- & at my public library
So if youâre interested in kids books you can find the ones we love there! bookshop.org/shop/cecereads
- good
- age-appropriate for my toddler
- by #ownvoices authors
- & at my public library
So if youâre interested in kids books you can find the ones we love there! bookshop.org/shop/cecereads
Here are my takes on Netflix's new show, #LoveOnTheSpectrum, as an #ActuallyAutistic viewer.
A thread... 1/?
#autismacceptance #neurodiversesquad #Neurodiversity #AllAutistics
A thread... 1/?
#autismacceptance #neurodiversesquad #Neurodiversity #AllAutistics
1st episode: I really like how they talk about how the ratio of boys to girls with autism is shrinking down from that often cited ratio of 4:1. They mention how this is due to our increased understanding of different presentations of autism, so A++ there!
2/?
2/?
I also love that they touch on how empathetic autistic people can be! It is often our superpower, & we can become amazing at things like reading facial expressions & body language, even better than a typical person in some cases, due to our ability to observe/study behavior.
3/?
3/?
Feel like I need to signal boost this in solidarity, so hereâs the info, writing friends.
This is a game company who just let all their writers go because said writers tried to collectively bargain for better wages.
This is a game company who just let all their writers go because said writers tried to collectively bargain for better wages.
From what Iâm reading, Voltage USA (company who makes Lovestruck the app) hired their writing staff of 21 as freelance contractors under terms that are pretty blatantly disguised as employees without benefits, worked them half to death, and paid them shit wages.
Shit wages = half of industry standard, apparently, and these are mostly folks writing #ownvoices LGBTQ+ content. Looks like that was Lovesweptâs niche.
Anyway the writers decided to unionize and bargain for better pay, benefits, etc, as you do. Shoutout to @VOW_Together
Anyway the writers decided to unionize and bargain for better pay, benefits, etc, as you do. Shoutout to @VOW_Together
Response thread to @georgeotoole67 below. @mslangille1. Happy to have these conversations. I echo a lot from @senior_mrs @JasonHimslâs responses. When we choose whole class texts we need to admit that choosing books that will appeal to the interests of 20-30 is not easy. 1/18
Consider the difference between interest and relevance. We can ask, what is happening in the world that our students live in today? What matters to them today? 2/18
Whose voices are heard and, more importantly, whose voices are trying to be heard? As English teachers we need to give space to the latter. In some cases, there might be themes we still feel are important, but we can breathe new life into them by introducing new voices. 3/18
Reply to @georgeotoole67 question about how to best select literature (his word đ) to encourage a love of reading. @JasonHimsl @MrsHackett305 @mslangille1 1/9
@KellyGToGo makes a great point that we kill a love of reading by overwhelming students with "work". I loathe the phrase "teaching the book". Our jobs are not to make students experts on a particular book. If people want to do that, they can go become a university prof. 2/
We need to select a wide range of #ownvoices books. Students should have the opportunity to see themselves, their friends, their families, their communities reflected in the classroom. @EvansSurvivance will remind us that it's not always obvious who is in our room. 3/
