Celebrate 10 Years of WNDB
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Join Us at Stories Save Lives
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Celebrate 10 Years of WNDB 〰️ Join Us at Stories Save Lives 〰️
Diverse books
We Need Diverse Books is revolutionizing what we read.
At WNDB, we’re creating lifelong readers and a more compassionate world through the power of diverse books. We support marginalized creators, publish inclusive stories, and provide readers with books that reflect our world.
Upcoming Events
Stories Save Lives
You’re invited! Tickets are now available for Stories Save Lives, a joyful community conversation and cocktail reception that commemorates a decade of WNDB and our Walter Awards.
Featured speakers: Nikole Hannah-Jones, Jason Reynolds, and Jacqueline Woodson
Date: 7 to 9PM, Thursday, April 10, 2025
Location: The Whittemore House, 1526 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036
For sponsorship opportunities, please reach out to our team.
Walter Dean Myers Awards
We hope you can make it to the 10th Walter Awards, which celebrates excellence in diverse children’s literature!
Featured speakers: Renée Watson, Ekua Holmes, June Hur, Sherri Winston, Eden Royce, and Ellen Oh (moderator)
Date: 10:30-1:00PM, Friday, April 11, 2025
Location: 5th Floor Auditorium, MLK Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Please contact us if you’d like to bring a student group.
In 2014, WNDB got its start as a simple hashtag. Today, we’re a national nonprofit that’s changing what we read across America.
Every reader deserves to find themselves in a story. To accomplish this, we enact change across the entire publishing process:
Step One: Creating a Book
We help marginalized writers and illustrators overcome financial and systemic barriers so that they can tell their stories and get published.
Step Two: Publishing a Book
We help diverse college students launch their careers in the publishing industry. We also publish books filled with inclusive voices that are shelved nationwide.
Step Three: Reading a Book
We provide thousands of free books to educators, students, and readers. Many of the titles we donate were written by the creators we’ve supported, making our work come full circle.
Learn more about our impact.
“
The WNDB mentorship program changed my life.”
Amina Luqman Dawson, WNDB mentee and Newbery Medalist
WNDB publishes books and anthologies to amplify marginalized voices and enrich collections on our bookshelves.
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Enrich your bookshelf
Featured Programs
Books Save Lives
Book bans now affect millions of students across the United States, but we’re fighting back — because we recognize the power of a diverse book to transform lives. With our Books Save Lives initiative, we’re providing grants to impacted educators, supporting affected creators, and working with grassroots organizations and policymakers — all to defend our freedom to read.
Internship Grants
The publishing industry has long struggled to build an inclusive workforce, which is why we established our Internship Grants program in 2015. Every summer, we provide grants to college and graduate students interning at publishers and literary agencies, giving them the financial support to secure housing, transportation, and whatever else they need to focus on their internships and burgeoning careers.
WNDB in the Classroom
We send free diverse books around the country to students in need via schools and libraries, book clubs, after-school groups, and festivals. Our goal? We help people find stories that they can relate to, which bolsters literacy rates, teaches compassion, and fosters a lifelong love of reading for all ages.
Looking for where to find diverse books? Or how to fight censorship? We have you covered and more.
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Free resources for parents, educators, and readers
Our partners and sponsors play an integral role in the growth and success of WNDB.
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Partner With Us
Support WNDB
Your generosity allows us to create lifelong readers nationwide.