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Malinda Lo is the author of several young adult novels, including most recently A Line in the Dark . Her novel Ash , a lesbian retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and was a Kirkus Best Book for Children and Teens. She has been a three-time finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Malinda’s nonfiction has been published by The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The Huffington Post, The Toast, The Horn Book, and AfterEllen. Her website is www.malindalo.com. ** Malinda shares how dialog in one scene of her YA novel, "A Line in the Dark" was pulled from her own life, and how sometimes writing truth isn't joyful, but a catharsis. Speaking of Arthur's prompt of a quote from Alexander Chee's How to Write an Autobiographical Novel  regarding transforming Gay and Asian stereotypes, via drag, to power, Malinda tells us about her current novel...

Did you check out the Diversity Social at #LA17SCBWI? The Diversity Social began with remarks about  We Need Diverse Books by Sona Charaipotra, Miranda Paul, and Linda Sue Park, followed by greetings from some of WNDB's founding members and SCBWI faculty support. I loved hearing about the  successes of their mentorship programs and advocacy programs -- from partnerships with the Scholastic Book Club to measurable results of WNDB's mentorship program.  An attendee asked how they can support diverse authors if they are not from a diverse background. The committee suggested: Buy and read diverse books, and support those authors. Talk about diverse books; promote those authors and their books. Advocate for diverse voices to be represented at events or programming you're involved in. Write and illustrate characters from diverse backgrounds. Pat Cummings asked: do your characters default to a specific ethnicity or background? Mentor with WNDB, if applicable. (generally looking...