Between The Lines is a sporadic feature on Pop! Goes The Reader in which authors and other industry professionals provide further insight into the writing and publishing process in the form of interviews, guest posts, etc. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy as we read between the lines.
Hi everyone! Today I’m incredibly honoured and excited to welcome Cara Davis and Adrianne Russell to Pop! Goes The Reader as they share a little about their incredibly important and wonderful new subscription box service, marginsbox. I was proud to be able to support this project on Kickstarter, and there’s still time for you to lend a hand, too! Pledge $1 or more today to help support marginalized creators and bring diverse, inclusive literature to readers everywhere!
We’ve shouted #WeNeedDiverseBooks for years. We’ve celebrated #OwnVoices books hitting the shelves with more and more frequency. The shelves are diversifying — but subscription boxes are not. With all of the options out there for young adult book subscription boxes, we don’t see a lot of marginalized voices championed within them, and that’s why we’ve created marginsbox. We took Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s call for mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors in children’s literature to heart. We brought our own chair to the table — and our supporters have provided the meal in the form of allowing us to reach our Kickstarter funding goal.
But that’s just the beginning.
Our beginning lies within highlighting Black, indigenous, and person of color (BIPOC) authors of young adult books. But our ultimate goal is to provide access to a wider variety of marginalized voices, to a wider assortment of readers. We want to create a box dedicated to LGBTQ+ authors. We want to create children’s/middle grade boxes. We want to give representation to those who are often times unrepresented, and that’s why we need more help.
It’s been amazing to see our idea grow from something we knew we’d struggle with for months into something more tangible, something more viable for success. Our supporters have given us a leg up when many Black-owned businesses don’t receive that. With even more support, we can start curating these additional boxes much sooner! This is why we’re still campaigning even though we’ve hit our stretch goal — we need all the help we can get to make this a long-term success, and we’ve got future plans that stretch straight up to the sky.
If you’re a proponent of diversity, of young readers being able to see themselves reflected on the page, we ask that you donate to our campaign. Even donations of $1 are helpful; that lets us know that you support what we do, even if you can’t give more. If every voice calling for diversity donated $1, we’d blow past even our highest stretch goal. We’d be able to do so much more for young readers with your help. Please consider pledging, spreading the word about our campaign, and subscribing to our service once we’re officially open come April. Help us raise our voices by raising yours.
Co-Founders
Cara Davis
● Adrianne Russell
One Response
I have already supported but this is extremely true and important! I will be sharing your post and the kickstarter link again! Thanks Jen
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