Bloomsbury Makes Good

Way to go, Bloomsbury! Here's a note from PW:

“Bloomsbury is ceasing to supply copies of the US edition of Magic Under Glass. The jacket design has caused offense and we apologize for our mistake. Copies of the book with a new jacket design will be available shortly.”

rgz Newsflash: Ari's Rant to Bloomsbury

There's a hot article over at Reading in Color. Ari is airing her views to Bloomsbury. Take a peek here and then link over to her full work.

An Open Letter to Bloomsbury Kids USA. Other Publishing Houses Take Note

"To Whom it May Concern,

Hello. My name is Ari and here at my blog I review YA books about people of color. Right when I was starting up my blog, controversy over your US Liar cover broke out. Allow me to jog your memory, since you've made the exact same mistake. Liar is about Micah a "nappy-headed", tomboy, African American girl. Your original cover had a white girl on it. After many bloggers protested, including the author herself you changed the US cover to the image of an African American girl, she even looks bi-racial, like Micah. Now I don't want this to be a history lesson, but I ask you, why have you made the exact same mistake? I'm talking about Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore. The main character, Nimira is described as "dark-skinned." The model on the book is definitely not dark-skinned."

Operation Teen Book Drop, TBD 09

During these challenging economic times, readergirlz continues to believe books offer hope and consolation. Now, more than ever, hospitalized teens need the escape and inspiration they get through reading quality young adult literature--books with exceptional characters and fabulous stories.

That's why rgz is kicking off its second annual Operation Teen Book Drop with YALSA and GuysLitWire. (TBD '09) Click here http://readergirlz.com/tbd.html for last year's overview. rgz is now accepting book donations from publishing houses for hospitalized teens across the country.

A special thanks to these publishers who have already dedicated works to TBD '09:

Abrams Books, Bloomsbury, Candlewick, Hyperion, Perseus Book Group, Tor, Lerner Books, Random House, Soft Skull Press

If your publishing house is able to donate 500 copies of appropriate young-adult novels, non-fiction, or audio books, please contact rgz diva Dia Calhoun at diacalhoun@msn.com Thank you for reading, reflecting, and reaching out!

~the rgz divas