Democracy Now!
#Dignidadliteraria’s “American Dirt” Victory Is One Part of Fight for More Latinx Representation
“A movement led by Latinx writers is demanding more representation across the publishing industry, building off of its historic agreement with a publisher in the wake of backlash to the novel “American Dirt.” Dignidad Literaria, which formed in response to the publication of Jeanine Cummins’s controversial book, met Monday with the book’s publisher, Macmillan. The publisher agreed to expand Latinx representation in its staff and its publications. “American Dirt” has received widespread criticism for its inaccurate portrayal of Mexicans, exploitation of immigrants’ experiences and complete erasure of Central Americans. The “Brown folks in the book … are paper dolls there in order to advance a plot,” says Myriam Gurba, a co-founder of Dignidad Literaria and a Chicana writer, podcaster and artist. The agreement that Dignidad Literaria reached with MacMillan is “a historic victory with material and political and cultural effects” that “would substantially increase the Latinx representation across McMillan and the overall ecosystem,” says award-winning journalist Roberto Lovato. “We came out with a success that is measurable and will be held accountable by the Latino community, who are the ultimate guarantors of this.”
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