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We Need Diverse Books is a nonprofit organization working "to address the lack of diverse, non-majority narratives in children’s literature." It was started as a social media campaign by Young Adult author Ellen Oh in response to the lack of diversity at Book Con, a major publishing industry event. It continues to address the systemic issues in the publishing world surrounding representation in children's and Young Adult literature.

History
We Need Diverse Books was started by author Ellen Oh as a social media campaign in May 2014 after BookCon 2014 did not include any authors of color in its initial line-up and featured a children's literature panel which consisted of 4 white, male authors. After the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign went viral, the group incorporated and began working with other nonprofits to continue its goals towards better representation in children's literature. In 2014, Daniel Handler donated $10,000 to We Need Diverse Books when he made a controversial statement about author Jacqueline Woodson at the National Book Foundation's National Book Awards.

Initiatives
We Need Diverse Books has partnered with the National Education Association’s Read Across America program and First Book to launch its Diversity in the Classroom initiative. Founder Ellen Oh said it "will bring the opportunity to explore a diverse author’s book to a different classroom every month of the school year" starting in January 2015. The organization is also planning a Children's Literature Diversity Festival to take place in Washington D.C. in 2016.

Grants and Awards
The organization will provide select unpublished YA authors who uphold the organization's goals of increasing diversity in children's literature with grants.

Walter Dean Myers Award
The Walter Dean Myers Award (also known as "The Walter") will "recognize books that best exemplify Myers’s commitment to providing children with powerful mirrors and windows."

Reception
Before the campaign officially began on May 1, 2014, the #WeNeedDiverseBooks hashtag had already gone viral, with "27,796 Tweets from 8,988 contributors recorded at 10:45 a.m." BookCon has partnered with We Need Diverse Books for its 2015 convention.