In episode 8, V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell talk about sensitivity reads, cross-cultural writing, and the lack of diversity in the publishing industry with author and COO of We Need Diverse Books Dhonielle Clayton and agent Ayesha Pande. In the first half of the show, Clayton talks about her own career as a sensitivity reader—or, as she prefers, a targeted beta reader—and discusses her concerns with a recent _New York Times_ article on the subject. In the show's second segment, longtime agent and former editor Pande explains how she has seen a lack of diversity in publishing affect writers of color throughout her 25-year career. Readings: "In an Era of Online Outrage, Do Sensitivity Readers Result in Better Books, or Censorship?" by Alexandra Alter in _The New York Times_; "Twentieth Century Fiction and the Black Mask of Humanity" by Ralph Ellison, from _Shadow and Act_; "How Chris Jackson is Building a Black Literary Movement" by Vinson Cunningham in _The New York Times Magazine_. In the Stacks features Abby Fennewald, Director of Marketing and Publicity for BookPeople in Austin, Texas.
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