In late March there was an article highlighting the author of the popular ‘Dork Diaries’ series. This is a very popular series in my school. Compare it to ‘Wimpy Kid’ for girls. She has sold over 10 million copies in four years. The author is a 53 year-old African-American, former bankruptcy lawyer. She chose to make Nikki, her main character, white. She says that “black writers should not be typecast into having only black characters.” Although her publisher likes to promote diversity, they say there is a “perception that books with minority characters don’t sell well.” Is that why there is no author picture included with the Dork books?
