–Last checked and updated April 29, 2020 by Rujipa Laosin, Langara College Library & Information Technology practicum student.

Projects and Initiatives

Asian American Writers’ Workshop (AAWW)
The AAWW, created and written by Asian Americans, has been designed to promote and make visible the work of Asian American authors. The online content includes magazine articles and a series of podcasts. (Accessed Apr. 23, 2020.) Visit Site

Asians in Publishing
This resource is specifically created to support Asians in publishing and literature. The Facebook group offers mentorship and building connections in the community. (Accessed Apr. 23, 2020.) Visit Facebook page

Baker, Jenn. Minorities in Publishing. Tumblr
This podcast discusses diversity among authors, people in the book publishing industry, people in literary fields, and other professionals working in-house. (Accessed Apr. 23, 2020.) How to Access Podcast

Building Good Relationships With Emerging BIPOC Writers
This 2019 workshop with Phoebe Ka-Ir Wang discusses ways to encourage emerging writers and build more inclusivity at a magazine. Watch video
Accompanying materials by Phoebe Ka-Ir Wang: Wishlist and checklist (pdf)   Wishlist and checklist (MS Word)   Scenarios (pdf)

CAN’T LIT
A monthly podcast hosted by Dina Del and Jen Sookfong Lee. There are a wide range of Canadian topics that are covered in this podcast, including literature. (Accessed Apr. 23, 2020.) Listen to Podcasts

Code Switch. National Public Radio
A weekly podcast run by a team of multi-racial and multi-generation journalists who are interested in race and racism in society. The topics in the podcast cover issues related to race and how they impact different areas of society. (Accessed Apr. 23, 2020.) Listen to Podcasts

Dani & Mollie. Black Chick Lit
The bi-monthly podcast covers books that are written by black women authors. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Listen to Podcasts

Disability in Kidlit
The website contains information related to the portrayal of disability in young adult literature. One of the purposes of the creator is to help writers create more authentic, accurate, and respectful disabled characters. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Disability Visibility Project. Wong, Alice, director.
“An online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture.” (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Disabled Writers
This resource is designed to support editors who want to connect with disabled people who currently work or want to work in the field. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Diversity in YA. (Currently on hiatus)
The website features published guest posts and author interviews which are related to diversity in young adult literature. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Editors of Color
A database that contains listings of people of colour who work in different professions, including editors. The goal is to provide networks to help diversify companies and other organizations. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Fainting Couch Feminists. Lemiski, Mica, interviewer. Room Magazine
This podcast series is a collection of interviews with women which covers a wide range of topics: gender, politics, relationships and literature. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Listen to Podcasts

Lambda Literary
“[N]urtures and advocates for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve our legacies, and affirm the value of our stories and our lives.” (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Latinos in Publishing
“A network of book professionals committed to supporting and increasing the number of Latino/a/x in the publishing industry, as well as promoting literature by, for, and about Latino/a/x people.” (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Lean In
This website is a collection of resources to “help women achieve their ambitions and work to create an equal world.” (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Microaggressions: Power, Privilege, and Everyday Life
This blog is a project whose purpose is to create awareness of everyday microaggressions by presenting a collection of real-life examples. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Native Land Digital
Includes a guide on territorial acknowledgements and many other resources.

People of Color in Publishing
Created to support and empower people of colour throughout the publishing industry, including native/indigenous people. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Post, Chad. “Three Percent Podcast.”
“A destination for readers, editors, and translators interested in finding out about modern and contemporary international literature.” (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Listen to Podcasts

Publishing in Color: Conferences for Spiritual Writers of Color
This resource is a series of conferences and workshops for groups of writers of colour who are currently under-represented in publishing. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Saleem, Ikhlas & Makkah Ali. “A podcast on race, gender and Muslims in North America.”
Features new stories and views of race, gender and life of American Muslims from invited guests who share their perspectives. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Listen to Podcasts

The SFT Podcast. “Speculative Fiction in Translation.”
This collection of podcast series shares knowledge and experience of authors, translators, editors and publishers related to their perspectives on speculative fiction from diverse countries. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Access to Podcasts

Strom, Dao & Neil Aitken, directors. De-Canon: A Visibility Project.
“A ‘pop-up library’ and web resource project that showcases literary art by writers/artists of color.” (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Writers Guild of Canada. “WGC Diversity Initiatives.” [September 2019] Visit Site

Yueh, Marvin & Reera Yoo, hosts. Books & Boba.
“A book club and podcast dedicated to spotlighting books written by authors of Asian descent.” (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Awards & Funding

The Canadian Ethnic Media Awards
Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA) is formerly known as the Canadian Ethnic Journalists and Writer Club. The organization supports ethnic professionals in the fields of print, radio, television, and online journalism. There is a total of seven awards categories in 2020. The competition is welcome to all journalists, in any language, whether they are members of the Association or not. (Accessed Apr. 29, 2020.) Visit Site

Carl Brandon Society
The society’s goal is to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction. There are two awards given from this society and both award work related to speculative fiction. The winners will receive a $1000 cash prize. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Con or Bust: Helping Fans of Color Attend SFF Cons
This organization is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to help people of colour attend science fiction conventions. This fund is an annual fund through donation and an online auction. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

First Peoples’ Cultural Council
The First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC) was created by the BC government in 1990. The program offers funding for individual Indigenous artists living in BC. The artistic works can be in any artistic discipline: visual, literary, media and more. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

“Fund for Trans Writers.” Shoot-for-The-Moon
This is a project to raise ongoing grants to support QTzS, BIPOC and disabled writers in Canada. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Page

Indigenous Voices Awards
The award is created to support and nurture the work of Indigenous writers and Indigenous artistic communities. The eligible applicants for the competition must be Indigenous. The prizes are divided into three categories: Unpublished Literary Art by Emerging Writers, Published or Performed Literary Art by Emerging Writers and Published or Unpublished Literary Art by Emerging Writers. There are cash prizes from $2,000 to $5,000. The last day of submission is on Jun 21, 2020. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Inclusive Conferences, Festivals, and Events

See also: Industry Inclusion and Equity Writing Programs, Conferences and Festivals. Writers Guild of America West. (Accessed June 23, 2020.)

The Festival of Literary Diversity
FOLD celebrates diversity in literature by promoting “diverse authors and stories in Brampton, Ontario – one of Canada’s most culturally diverse cities.” In 2020, there were over twenty literary events held virtually between April 30 and May 3. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

Growing Room: A Feminist Literary Festival
Annual event in March organized by Room magazine in Vancouver, BC. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

LiterASIAN Writers Festival
The festival was originally held in Vancouver. From 2018, the University of Toronto and Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop are the hosts of the LiterASIAN festival in Toronto. “The festival’s purpose is to promote and celebrate the works of Asian Canadian writers and artists.” (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

Phelan, Beth, host and moderator. #DVPit: A Twitter pitching event for marginalized authors and illustrators.
The annual online event provides a chance for authors and illustrators to promote their work. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

Wakefield Writers Festival
“Writers Fête is one of the most anticipated cultural and literary events in the region. We work purposefully to build a linguistically diverse program that showcases local and national francophone, anglophone, ethnic and indigenous literary talent.” In Wakefield, Ontario. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

WisCon
A feminist science fiction & fantasy convention held annually in Madison, Wisconsin. In 2020, the event was virtually held on May 22-25. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

Mentorships and Other Career Assistance

Awaken
This program is designed to empower “leaders and teams to lead inclusively and authentically.” (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

Diaspora Dialogues
“Supports diverse writers to turn their craft into a career through mentorship, professional development and opportunities to publish and present their work.” (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

The Editor-Writer Mentorship
The program is to help pair upcoming writers from underrepresented groups with an experienced publishing editor. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

The Future Is You and Me
A Vancouver-based program “designed to support young women of colour to take on leadership positions in arts, cultural and creative industries.” (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

Inkluded: An Inclusive, Literary Community
Champions diversity in publishing by supporting like-minded organizations and works to develop and place young people from diverse backgrounds into their first publishing jobs. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

InkWell Workshops
“Offers free, drop-in creative-writing workshops in Toronto to people living with mental-health or addictions issues led by award-winning professional writers with lived experience of mental illness.” (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

The International Women’s Media Foundation
The program supports reporting projects, particularly stories of global importance and underreported stories. Women journalists, which includes trans women, and non-binary people, from anywhere in the world are eligible to apply to the program. “IWMF will make an annual total of $230,000 worth of grants through four rounds of funding through 2025. The average grant size in $10,000.” (Accessed Apr. 28, 2020.) Visit Site

“Learning Lab: BIPOC Performing Artists Edition.” ArtStarts
This is a lab to help professionals develop experiences in various fields. “Learning Lab is to build capacity for performing artists who are Black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour.”  (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

Literary Agents of Color
The website is a resource for writers or illustrators who have struggled to find agents of colour in publishing. (Accessed Apr. 24, 2020.) Visit Site

Newcomer and Refugee Artist Mentorship. Toronto Arts Council
The program offers support to individual newcomer and refugee professional artists and to be mentored in their chosen arts discipline. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) More Info

Thursdays Writing Collective
This archive resource contains related writing workshops and support for writers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside that ran from 2008-2018. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

We Need Diverse Books
This blog advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honours the lives of all young people. (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site

Writing the Other
Resources and workshops on “writing characters very different from” the writer “sensitively and convincingly.” (Accessed Apr. 27, 2020.) Visit Site