Representation & Appropriation in Publishing
— Last checked and updated April 29, 2021, by Rachel Lin, Langara College Library & Information Technology practicum student.
The Basics
Akiwenzie-Damm, Kateri. “The Cultural Appropriation Debate Is over. It’s Time for Action.” The Globe and Mail, May 19, 2017. Read Article
Elliott, Alicia. “On Seeing and Being Seen: The Difference Between Writing With Empathy and Writing With Love.” Room Magazine. Read Article
Johnson, Maisha Z. “What’s Wrong with Cultural Appropriation? These 9 Answers Reveal Its Harm.” everyday feminism, Jun. 14, 2015. Read Article
McArdle, Molly. “‘You Will Be Tokenized’: Speaking Out About the State of Diversity in Publishing.” Brooklyn Magazine, Feb. 24, 2016. Read Article
A Deeper Dive
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story.” YouTube, uploaded by TED, Oct. 7, 2009. Watch Video
Chau Bradley, Helen. “Words of (Dis)Comfort: On the Luxuries and Limitations of Reading While White.” Carte Blanche, Mar. 7, 2019. Read Article
Crenshaw, Kimberlé. “The Urgency of Intersectionality.” YouTube, uploaded by TED, Dec. 7, 2016. Watch Video
The Ethics of Cultural Appropriation. Edited by James O. Young, Conrad G. Brunk. Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Read
Gonsalez, Marcos Santiago. “When ‘Good Writing’ Means ‘White Writing’.” Electric Literature, Nov. 1, 2017. Read Article
Jemisin, Nora K. “Don’t Put My Book in the African American Section.” N. K. Jemisin, May 26, 2010. Read Article
Leduc, Amanda. “When All Your Faves Are Problematic.” Open Book, Feb. 26, 2019. Read Article
McGrath, Laura B. “Comping White.” Los Angeles Review of Books, Jan. 21, 2019. Read Article
Minosh Pyle, Kai. “CanLit, AmLit—NishLit? Rematriating Indigenous Literature Beyond Borders.” Carte Blanche, Feb. 7, 2019. Read Article
Muhammad-Ali, Khaalidah. “More Than Numbers.” Fireside Magazine, Aug. 10, 2018. Read Article
Ng, Celeste. “Why I Don’t Want to Be the Next Amy Tan.” HuffPost, Mar. 18, 2010. Read Article
Nunnally, Mya. “7 Casually Racist Things That White Authors Do.” BOOK RIOT, Feb. 3, 2018. Read Article
Shraya, Vivek. “How Did the Suffering of Marginalized Artists Become So Marketable?” NOW, May 1, 2019. Read Article
Statement from the TWUC Equity Task Force in Response to WRITE MAGAZINE editorial “Winning the Appropriation Prize.” Writers Union, May 15, 2017. Read Statement – To review the original editorial by Hal Niedzviecki, please read the following: Schilling, Vincent. “Write What You Don’t Know: Write Magazine Editor Resigns after Cultural Article.” Indian Country Today, May 10, 2017.
Thom, Kai Cheng. “They Call Me Literary Fascism: Reflections of a Sensitivity Reader.” All Lit Up, Mar. 1, 2019. Read Article
Whittaker, Alison. “White critics don’t know how to deal with the golden age of Indigenous stories.” The Guardian, Mar. 15, 2019. Read Article
Writing the Other: Resources and classes to be more inclusive in writing. Visit Site
Writing with Color. More Info
Style Guides
Conscious Style Guide. Visit Site
Diversity Style Guide. Visit Site
NABJ Style Guide. National Association of Black Journalists. Visit Site
Younging, Gregory. Elements of Indigenous Style. Brush Education, Feb. 2018. More Info
