Five years ago, YA author Corinne Duyvis took to Twitter to encourage readers to consume “books with diverse characters written by authors from that same diverse group.” In a follow-up tweet, Corinne proposed the idea of creating a hashtag to make this genre of books more accessible to the everyday reader. Thus, #OwnVoices was born.
While many of the novels that fall into this category shed light on racial discrimination and immigration, Corinne stresses on her website that the meaning for this hashtag is to exemplify books in which the protagonist and author share a marginalized identity, including disabilities and sexuality and gender identity. The #OwnVoices movement has since sparked conversations regarding racial prejudice, injustice, and oppression.
Diversify your library selection ahead with 15 books from #OwnVoices authors.