#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning children's book author and diversity publishing pro, Crystal Swain-Bates, spoke with me about what inspired her to launch her own publishing company and the challenges authors of color face. “When I recognized how underrepresented black characters were in children's books, I made it my life's purpose to fill the diversity gap...” – Crystal Swain-Bates Crystal is a celebrated illustrated kids' book author, entrepreneur, and indie publisher "... on a mission to positively reshape the way children of color all over the world see themselves." She has written and published 12 children's books, been featured by Forbes, Entrepreneur, Essence Magazine, CNN, and HuffPost, and her books have been used as props for hit television shows on BET. Her lauded and bestselling book Big Hair, Don't Care is one of Amazon's most highly reviewed black children's books. Crystal founded Goldest Karat Publishing to address the lack of diversity in children's literature and aims to help "... aspiring and underrepresented authors publish their books and share their stories.” She also speaks at conferences and events on the topics of diversity in children's literature, writing, and publishing. Stay calm and write on ... Discover The Writer Files Extra You can now have The Writer Files podcast dropped right into your email inbox every time there’s a new show. No more shaking your podcast app! As a subscriber, Kelton will send you added insights, the chance to get TWF merch (like "Stay Calm and Write On" t-shirts anyone?), curated collections of shows like The Publishing Series and The Writer’s Brain, updates, and occasional special offers. Learn more at the link below and take our AuthorPods podcasting course survey. Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please "Follow" us to automatically see new interviews. In this file Crystal Swain-Bates and I discussed: Her promise to fill the diversity gap in children's literature How a former CIA intelligence analyst became a famed author Why she always writes her titles first Self-publishing vs. traditional publishing for illustrated kids' books How diversity in publishing and book retail needs to improve And more! Show Notes: CrystalSwainBates.com Crystal Swain-Bates author page on Amazon PublishwithCrystal.com Six Figure Self-Publishing Secrets with Crystal Swain-Bates GoldestKarat.com Crystal Swain-Bates Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices