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Today I chat diversity in fiction and writing diverse characters outside your identity with fellow cozy mystery author ACF Bookens. Diversity in fiction is a topic that is close to both of our hearts. We talked about why representation is so important as well as how to write someone different from you while being respectful and listening to the voices of people in those communities.
I do want to preface the episode by saying we can only speak from our points of experience. We don’t want to talk over others. This isn’t the first episode touching on diversity issues, and there’s at least one more episode coming up in the next few weeks on this important topic, so we can all hear from more voices and perspectives. We are two white ladies talking about diversity, so that by itself wouldn’t be much diversity! I also welcome feedback on anything we may have gotten wrong. Part of being a good ally is listening and being open to learn from what you get wrong.
Finally, we talk in the episode about a lack of diversity in our subgenre of cozy mystery, so I’ve started a list to put a spotlight on diverse cozies. It’s far from complete–I’m still compiling things and linking to other lists elsewhere–but if anyone’s curious, here’s a place to start.
About ACF Bookens: