Next summer, Celeste Ng will fund two publishing interns from diverse backgrounds.
Here’s some uncharacteristically good news for our notoriously exclusive, non-diverse, barrier-laden industry: next summer, two publishing interns from diverse backgrounds will receive a stipend, thanks to a donation from author Celeste Ng.
We Need Diverse Books, which in the past has given grants to summer interns in children’s publishing, announced today it was expanding its program to include two interns working in adult publishing. The grantees will receive $2,500 plus a transportation stipend for two months. The first grants will be awarded in summer 2021 and the program will continue for five years.
In order to qualify, interns must meet the organization’s definition of diversity, which includes, but is not limited to, “LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and underrepresented religious groups,” according to its website. They must also receive an offer from one of We Need Diverse Books’ partner organizations.
“As a writer of color as well as a mother of a young multiracial child, I’m grateful for all that We Need Diverse Books does to promote inclusion in publishing,” Ng said in a statement. “I’ve been wanting to find a way to give back for a long time. I’m proud to partner with WNDB to make an internship in publishing feasible for more diverse applicants through these grants.”
