Publishers Weekly recently posted an article about “Striving for More Industry Diversity,” featuring the newly-formed organization People of Color in Publishing. Founder Patrice Caldwell says, “The idea for the group came from wanting a safe space for people of color within the publishing industry. I wanted a place for activism and organizing, where we could vent our frustrations but also work towards solutions.”

(Back row, from l.): Committee members Ebony LaDelle, Beth Phelan, Mekisha Telfer, Jalissa Corrie, and Norma Perez-Hernandez; (front row, from l.) Saraciea Fennell, Kait Feldmann, Booki Vivat, Patrice Caldwell, Linda Camacho, and Porscha Burke. Image courtesy of PW.

Part of the People of Color in Publishing committee is Ebony Ladelle, an M.S. in Publishing alumna. Ladelle is the senior marketing manager in HarperCollins’s YA division and co-chair of the outreach and partnerships subcommittee for People of Color in Publishing. In PW’s article, Ladelle reflects on the organization’s first meeting: “We discussed where we’re from and how we got into publishing, and realized we all had nontraditional but similar stories. It seemed like navigating your way through publishing and finding a job was like searching for a needle in a haystack, so we’ve made sure that our goals reflected POC who may not have the same access or resources.”

To learn more about Ladelle, check out her Alumni in the Spotlight Interview from September 2012. To read PW’s entire article on People of Color in Publishing, click here.