CBC Diversity Committee

The CBC Diversity Committee is dedicated to increasing the diversity of voices and experiences contributing to children’s and young adult literature — encouraging the increase and importance of manifold voices based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender preference, sexual orientation, abilities, neurodiversity, geographical origin, religion, age, income, and class among both the creators of and the topics addressed by children’s literature. 

As part of this effort, the CBC Diversity Committee:

• Supports diverse voices both in the workplace and on the page
• Works with organizations such as We Need Diverse Books, Brown Bookshelf, and Futures & Options to further the diversity movement
• Maintains a large diversity reading list at Goodreads; and
• Develops newsletters and blog posts to keep the book community aware of news and trends
• And, as a priority, features debut diverse authors and illustrators in CBC-sponsored virtual events and in our newsfeed. 

Notably, in 2018, the committee created the CBC Diversity Outstanding Achievement Awards. The 3rd annual group of winners has been announced. Read about the current and past winners at our Diversity Initiative page.

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CBC MEMBERS: watch exclusive videos of previous CBC Diversity events.

2020 Committee Members

Elizabeth Agyemang, Editorial Assistant, HMH Books for Young Readers

Melanie Cordova, Editor, Candlewick Press

Karina Granda, Associate Art Director, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Trisha de Guzman, Associate Editor, Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, Macmillan Children’s Books

Ryan Mita, Sales Manager & CBC Liaison

Vaishali Nayak, Middle Grade Marketing Manager, HarperCollins Children’s Books

Olivia Ngai, Editor, West Margin Press

Talisa Ramos, Sales Coordinator, Penguin Young Readers

Jordan Standridge, Marketing Associate, Charlesbridge

Sydney Tillman, Publicist, Scholastic

Phoebe Yeh, VP & Publisher of Crown Books for Young Readers, Random House Children’s Books

Only employees of member publishers are invited to serve on the CBC’s vibrant committees. Are you a CBC member interested in joining a committee? Email Shaina.Birkhead@cbcbooks.org.