Read Your World, Inc. (RYW) co-founder and president Mia Wenjen and board chairperson Jessica Tranchino are thrilled to announce the creation of two, new, annual children’s books prizes:
The Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Book Awards.
There will be two prizes of $1500 each: one for a picture book or graphic novel, and a second for a middle grade or young adult novel, in which the protagonists are intersectional.
These annual cash prizes will be funded by RYW board member, Federico Erebia, and his husband, James J. Jordan.
“Now more than ever, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized or underrepresented voices need encouragement to create their high quality books for children,” Erebia said. “We’re looking for stories that show the beauty, worth, and potential of intersectional children and teens.”
“It’s our hope that these awards will incentivize publishers to seek more manuscripts with intersectional characters,” Jordan said. “Children who deal with real world societal issues because of who they are should see themselves in some of the books they read.”
The award criteria will define intersectionality as two or more marginalized or underrepresented identities, which may include their:
Wenjen said, “Intersectional individuals often deal with compounded prejudice and discrimination, because of their identities, in combinations rarely seen in children’s literature, despite the large number of children, teens, and adults who live these truths daily.”
“It’s surprising that there are no awards, prizes or other incentives to promote intersectional books,” Tranchino added. “We hope these awards will shine a spotlight on these stories with intersectional representation.”
The Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Book Awards will be administered by Read Your World, Inc. [formerly Multicultural Children’s Book Day].
