Like in many other fields, people of colour are heavily underrepresented in literature. Not only are they not written about, but Black, Indigenous, and other POC authors have a harder time selling and publishing their books. Here are a few ways you can support them:

 

Read diverse stories by BIPOC authors

 

Reading and writing diverse stories is important, but it is also more important to read those stories when they are written by authors telling them from experience. While white authors incorporating people of colour into their stories is appreciated, POC are constantly written based on negative stereotypes that they are tired of. If you hear of a book or author that has negative stereotypes relating to people of colour, don’t support it and instead look for diverse stories by BIPOC authors.

 

Buy and request books by BIPOC authors

 

If you can support BIPOC authors by buying their books, do it. You can request their books at your local library or bookstore to get more people interested in them. If you know about an upcoming release you can also pre-order it. This encourages bookstores and other retailers to promote books that people are excited about. 

 

Review their books

 

By writing reviews on diverse books you like, you encourage others to read them. You can do this either on Amazon, Goodreads, a personal blog, or social media. 

 

Always look for new BIPOC stories

 

Lastly, don’t settle for only reading a few books by these authors, always be on the lookout for new ones. You can check out the social media accounts of any BIPOC authors to see if they have any recommendations, you can look for blogs with recommendations, or just use good old-fashioned google to find more books!