So I realize this is a topic where everyone has varying opinions. Some people have a stance that authors should be able to write whatever they feel like writing. And that's fine. But that also means that white authors can write stories about people of color. We all know people are color are barely given writing opportunities as is. And that white publishers will make excuses as to why a book by an author of color is not up to standard while publishing a story by a mediocre white author. And I know most of us don't want write writers writing their stories and our stories. I know I'm getting tired of having to do background checks on authors lately every time I come across a new book with a black face on the cover. As black writers are fighting to get their stories published I refuse to put money into the pockets of white writers looking to capitalize off the diversity trend.
After that mess the other day with Penguin Random House and Barnes and Noble putting classic white stories in black/yellow/brown face instead of promoting more diverse tales it really got me thinking. First I want to start by giving praise to the authors who have been advocates for diversity in the publishing industry and pushed for change. It's very easy to be complacent in a system not designed for you. We Need Diverse Books really paved the way to get more stories told and started a conversation about how much diversity is lacking across all genres.
Let's talk about popular Young Adult writer Melissa De La Cruz who has written well over 40 books during her career. But just how many of those stories feature a Filipino lead like herself? When I think of all her highly praised titles none of the first stories that come to mind feature leads who look like her. I read her semi-autobiographical story Fresh Off the Boat years ago when it first published and it wasn't until about a decade or so and several published books later did she release a story similar in tone with Something in Between. Where are her other books with Filipino culture? Why has she published more stories about girls like her? Very many of her books have been turned into movies. Yet the only one featuring a non white lead becoming a film is 29 Dates which just felt like an attempt to jump on the K Pop trend. Melissa herself is not Korean and doesn't have much knowledge on Korean culture. One of the complaints I read about the book was how inauthentic the Korean parts felt while the brief scene featuring Filipino culture felt so much more real. Surely she's been in the industry long enough that she can push for change.
So I was very happy a few years ago when I starred seeing mysteries being released by black authors that I didn't have to hunt for. The Detective by Day series by Kellye Garrett was a series I really needed. It brought back the fun that I enjoyed after and was missing after Sophie Katz. It follows a struggling black actress and her group of friends. A breath of fresh air and escape from what's considered the cozy norm. This led me to pick up Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon which follows African American classical musician Gethsemane Brown and is now 6 books strong. And these books were getting well deserved praise.
I needed more diverse cozies to devour. Upon suggestion I was told about a new author VM Burns who had series that was getting attention. By that time her second book Read Herring Hunt was being released soon so I leaped at the opportunity to grab an arc. The nice thing about mystery series is that you can read them out of order and not be totally lost. So I read it and felt a little confused because while other character's race was mentioned the same was not done with Samantha and Nana Jo. And there was one particular incident early in the story that stood out to me because it felt like it was trying to make a statement about racial profiling by the police. So I asked the author herself outright if her leading lady was black. This was her response,
"I made a conscious decision not to state Sam’s race in this series. I wanted readers to imagine her however they wanted and didn’t want the series to be pigeon holed or restricted in anyway. I can say that Sam and I share a lot of the same hopes, dreams and character flaws. However, I’m sure readers of other races may imagine her differently, and that’s fine with me."
Which felt like a cheap cop out. Being black shouldn't be a restriction. If people don't want to read about a black character they probably don't want to read anything by a black author either. And it's not like her picture is not in the book or on her author's page on Amazon. And it felt a little like she decided to hide the character's blackness as not to make white readers uncomfortable.
And there are hundreds of cozy mystery stories by white authors with new ones constantly being released. So when I see a non white author come up I get excited. And being black I definitely want to support black authors. I saw a new story being released this year that I was very excited for because it mentioned potions and mermaids and the author is African American. But then I was a little disappointed when Esme Addison revealed her book doesn't feature her culture or someone who looks like her but her husband's Polish culture.
I'm just at the point where I want to see myself and others like me represented in more stories. I don't want to read white stories by non white people. Just as I don't want white people to capitalize off the stories of non white people while they're fighting for their seat at the table to get their stories published. White people can pick up a book in any genre and see themselves and their experience while people of color cannot. And so many black authors have spoken about how when they first started writing they wrote their characters as white because they weren't used to seeing themselves in the story and it took some time for them to change their perspective and write the stories they wanted to see.
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