12-Year-Old #1000BlackGirlBooks Founder To Publish Own Book
The 12-year-old girl that created the #1000BlackGirlBooks project has received a book deal with Scholastic.
In an announcement made last Friday, the book publishing company said that Marley Dias was signed on to create a book for them, which will drop some time in spring 2018. The untitled book will center around activism and will cater to children ages 10 and older.
"I am so excited to be doing this book with Scholastic," Dias said in a statement. "All my friends can probably only name one publishing house and that is Scholastic; they are everywhere. Scholastic is the perfect partner for spreading my message of diversity, inclusion and social action."
"Marley's energy and passion are electric!" Scholastic Vice President and Executive Editor Andrea Davis Pinkney added. "Through her smarts and ingenuity, she's delivered a jolt of inspiration that's sent an unstoppable shockwave to kids everywhere who've stood up with Marley to shout 'Yes!' to the power of positive action. In this book, Marley will share her dynamic wisdom with readers everywhere."
Dias first gained attention for her #1000BlackGirlBooks project, which she started back in the fall of 2015. Through the project she made the goal for herself to collect 1,000 books about black girls by the beginning of February 2016. She has exceeded her goal, having received over 4,000 books.
Following that Dias also created her very own zine for Elle.com called Marley Mag.
"I have worked my butt off to create this space where black girls' stories are read and celebrated in schools and libraries," Dias said in a letter introducing her Marley Mag. "...With that in mind, I'll continue my work to motivate black girls and all people to use their voices to be positive influences in their communities. As members of society, we should always be pushing our girls to strive to be the best and to speak up and out about issues we see."
