Friends – it’s been a LONG time, hasn’t it? Your world and mine has both shifted dramatically – or has it just made more of us see what was always there?
I thought to warm up to new blogs, I’d share my favorites on Twitter to educate myself on issue that are important to me – whether its criminal justice reform or diversity in kidlit.
This is NOT a comprehensive list by any means, but some of my favorites.
A lot of times I find good accounts by following one person for a while and then I look at their followers and see who I want to follow or watch the twitter exchanges to see who looks interesting to me.
When I’m on twitter as an author, I’m there to:
- Follow trends/ideas/new publications
- LEARN from people who are leaders in the profession
- LEARN about issues of #ownvoices, diversity and representation
- Support fellow authors
- Support literary journals and publishers
POETS/AUTHORS (again, just a sample list)
@sunyungshin – Poet. Amazing. Sun Yung Shin.
@LRGiles – Lamra Giles. author, tweets about writing, diversity, #ownvoices
@wordglass – Indigenous – Ojibwe writer
@su_hwangster – Poet. Su Hwang.
@junaudaalma – Junauda Petrus – The Stars and the Blackness Between them! MN writer who just won a Newberry honor
@nhannahjones – NYT writer and founder/author of the #1619 Project
@HeidErdrich – Heid E. Erdrich. MN Indigenous poet. Advocate and invested in artist community
@margaritapoet – Margarita Engle. Former Young People’s Poet Laureate – talks about poetry, writing
@rebeccanagle – Rebecca Nagle. Cherokee writer and advocate
@rickriordan – Rick Riordan – big advocate for #ownvoices
@johncoy23 – MN kidlit writer
@MrEugeneGrant – Writer #ownvoices generally great follow learn a lot
@nkjemisin – N.K. Jemisin. SciFi author – great follow, beautiful writing
@LindaSuePark – Linda Sue Park. Amazing author and advocate
@halseanderson – Laurie Halse Anderson – author of SPEAK
@Mike_Jung – Mike Jung. author, autistic, diversity
@lxgino – Alex Gino. Author of George and Rick. author of George
@ElloEllenOh – Ellen Oh – author and leader of We Need Diverse Books.
@olugbemisola – Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich. AMAZING! Author
@nikkigrimes9 – Nikki Grimes – poet and verse novelist.
@planetalvina – Alvina Ling. Editor at Little Brown Books for Young Readers also has a podcast – Book Friends Forever
@pacylin – Grace Lin. Author, leader, amazing writer.
@nnedi – Nnedi Okorafor. Fantasy writer – amazing words, great great great follow
@donalynbooks – Donalyn Miller. Teacher, author, #nerdybookclub
@CynLeitichSmith – Cynthia Leitich Smith. Native author, amazing!!!!
@kaokaliayang – Kao Kalia Yang – author, teacher – Latehomecomer, A Map Into the World
@GibneyShannon – MN kitlit author.
@MimaWrites – Aida Salazar – kidlit verse novel author. The Moon Within
@getnicced – Nic Stone. Amazing storyteller – Dear Martin
POET STUFF/WRITER ORGANIZATIONS/EDITORS
@buttonpoetry – provider of spoken word and performance and other poetry media
@MerriamWebster – because of course. And they are a great follow
@apjpoetry – American Poetry Journal
@poetrymagazine – Poetry Magazine
@POETSorg – Poem-A-Day from the Academy of American Poets
@Loftliterary – Loft Literary Center – Non profit literary community fosterer in Minneapolis
@birchbarkbooks – Independent Bookstore.
@MoonPalaceBooks – Independent Bookstore
@AuthorVillage – book agency for authors and artists – INCREDIBLE lecture series right now.
@Milkweed_Books – Independent publisher of lots – but amazing poetry!
DIVERSITY and JUSTICE RESOURCES
@poetry_asylum – Poetry Asylum – just follow and listen and learn
@MNPrisonWriting – Minnesota Prison Writing initiative. They have the most extraordinary readings of their students.
@novelmindkidlit – mental health in kidlit
@thebullhornblog – blog/writers about kidlit and social justice
@PublishingTrans – “It is not enough to write our own stories, we must be able to edit them too.”
@LatinosInKidLit – Latino kid lit authors and resources
@chefjoseandres – making food and doing incredible humanitarian work everywhere
@WCKitchen – World Central Kitchen – Coordinating food needs everywhere.
@YA_Pride – dedicated to LGBTQIAP and YA literature
@diversebooks – organization – We Need Diverse Books – a necessary follow ALWAYS.
@earmnwriters – EAR: White MN Writers for Racial Justice
@consciouskidlib – #ownvoices and parenting and education through a critical race lens
@brownbookshelf – highlights African American children’s authors AMAZING resource.
@dereese – Dr. Debbie Reese – Creator of the blog American Indians in Children’s Literature.
@ASlavitt – Andy Slavitt. My go-to for COVID related news.
@Deborah_Rev – Rev Deborah Johnson – inspiring voice on justice and reconciliation
@UR_Ninja – Unicorn Riot – independent media and video streams
@Tolerance_org – Teaching Tolerance – creating equitable school experiences for kids and teachers
@brionajenkins – Bri Jenkins – activist, speaker, Podcast – “The Tea with Bri”
@MPD150 – Challenging the idea of the police and encouraging divest from police and investing in communities.
Favorite Book Tubers/Book Bloggers: @youngiftednblak, @bookishrealm, @RachelRaeReads, @monicaisreading, @Lyricalswordz – what are yours?