Scoop: new diversity scholarship announced

Literary agent Barry Goldblatt, who last visited us in Seattle during January's ALA conference, just announced that he's founded the Angela Johnson Scholarship in honor of his first client. This talent-based grant will be for writers of color who wish to enroll in the Vermont College of Fine Arts' MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. The $5,000 scholarship will be awarded to up to two new students annually.

Award-winning author Angela Johnson

According to the press release, Barry hopes both to help attract more writers of color to this leading MFA program and to acknowledge the publishing community's — and readers' — need and desire for more diversity in authorship and content.

“There is growing awareness in children's publishing that we are not as diverse in what we publish as we would like to be,” said Barry, who has represented many VCFA faculty and graduates over the years. “I hope that this scholarship will enable some worthy writers to enroll and complete the program—a program I have the highest respect for—and then sell their resulting work to a good publisher.”

He chose to honor his first client and MacArthur Fellowship recipient, Angela Johnson, one of the most prominent and recognized African-American authors for children and young adults, by naming the scholarship for her.