What were you doing at age 12?
Marley Dias, the young founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks, just snagged her first book deal.
Dias will be the author and main character of her very own book via renowned global children’s publishing company, Scholastic.
“In her forthcoming nonfiction book for ages 10 and up, Marley Dias, the powerhouse girl-wonder who started the #1000blackgirlbooks campaign, shows kids how to make their own dreams come true. In this accessible “keep-it-real” guide, Marley tells how she’s turned her passion into a literacy crusade that has captured the attention of the media, policymakers, and young people throughout the world,” said the Scholastic announcement.
The book is scheduled to release in the spring of 2018. Dias said she is excited to be doing a book with her new partner.
“All my friends can probably only name one publishing house and that is Scholastic; they are everywhere,” said Dias. “Scholastic is the perfect partner for spreading my message of diversity, inclusion and social action.”
Related: Marley Dias Continues to Find the Color in Kid’s Literature
When Marley Dias was 11 she founded her own book drive called #1000BlackGirlsBooks, collecting books depicting black girls as the protagonists. Since the launch, the New Jersey seventh grader has collected 8,000 books to date and continues to promote the importance of diversity in literacy.
Her cause has led her to appear on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and co-host of the Girls Can Do Program alongside Assistant Director to the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, Lauren Mims. She’s also become Elle.com’s youngest Editor-in-Residence interviewing icons such as Misty Copeland and Ava DuVernay.