I’m trying to go to Los Angeles at some point this year. I want to visit friends and, y’know, play tourist for once. I’d initially thought about going for my birthday but that may prove to be prohibitive, so I thought about going for the Writer’s Digest Conference, which is being held October 19-21, 2012.
And why shouldn’t I? It would give me the chance to meet writers, agents, publishers, and sundry others in the literary scene. Plus, I’m sure it would be a total gas. But when I looked at the list of speakers at this year’s conference, I noticed that none of them were Black.
Are there no people of color who could be considered experts on any of the given subjects being talked about at the conference? No one with expertise in editing? Suggestions concerning self-publishing? Insight on how to establish and maintain a successful career? Perhaps this is just an off year. I’m positive they’ve had Black speakers before … right?
So this kind of gives me pause. I mean, I’m sure the omission of a Black speaker was not intentional. And it’s not like I’d be going to the conference for some Afrocentric or culturally specific take on the publishing industry. Yet I can’t help but have a nagging feeling that people of color will be very much underrepresented at the Writer’s Digest Conference.
What do you think? Am I looking too much into this issue? Or do you agree that there should be a bit more diversity at this and similar gatherings where creatives come together? LMK your thoughts in the comments below!
Hi Jay
It’s a good question. Well worth asking, I agree. For the most part, we build the line up for our conference from the NYC agent pool and speaker proposals that are typically sent to me. We’ll also use a couple of authors from the WD list if their areas of expertise line up with the session tracks. As most of these transactions happen via email, I’m not completely aware of the overall diversity of the conference (or lack thereof, to your point) until contracts are signed and headshots are submitted (most of which come in piecemeal).
ALL authors, agents, and editors are encouraged to send me a query re: speaking opportunities if they 1) have an area of proven expertise, 2) a passion for sharing their knowledge with other writers, and 3) at least some speaking experience. I’m always looking for speakers, particularly as we have four conferences coming up in 2013 (up from two in 2012). Our next one takes place in April, in NYC. We usually have three tracks, including the craft of writing, the business of getting published and promoting oneself, and the digital publishing environment. I can’t offer any guarantees about securing a spot, but I can guarantee that every proposal gets the same consideration.
Thanks for opening up this discussion
Phil
Phil Sexton
Publisher, Writer’s Digest
phil.sexton@fwmedia.com
212-447-1400, ext. 12100
Hello Phil,
Thank you very much for your comment. Let me begin by saying that I totally understand the process by which the lineup of speakers are chosen. Thank you for the explanation of this. I did not mean to suggest that the seeming lack of diversity was intentional on the part of the conference’s organizers, but I did want to bring this issue to light as it does play a part in my (and likely others’) decision to participate in these sorts of events.
Again, I do appreciate your taking the time to respond to this post, and I can only hope that future events reflect the diversity of this industry.
Cheers!
Well, I did the opposite: went from L.A. to NYC for the SCBWI conference 2 years ago. There was not much diversity in terms of speakers there either, which I think is a reflection of the general lack of diversity in publishing. I was fortunate to hear Jacqueline Woodson who was incredible, but other than that, there was no real recognition of the need for more representation of authors/editors/publishers of color.
Like you I didn’t go to find a “culturally specific take” but it would be nice to see variety.
I think it’s cool that Mr. Sexton replied and maybe this will open some dialogue.
Hi Tammee, thanks for your comment. I agree, there definitely needs to be increased representation of people of color at these sorts of events.