Black crime fiction authors fight for recognition

CHICAGO — When writer Kellye Garrett published her first crime novel in 2016, fellow Black crime author Rachel Howzell Hall reached out to her.

“She’s said it’s like seeing a unicorn. Because that’s how rare it is to see a Black crime writer, but especially a Black woman,” Garrett said.

Although authors including Attica Locke and Barbara Neely have found success, Garrett said Black women writers in crime fiction often are overlooked. The need to amplify their voices has inspired groups and movements to elevate writers of color.

“The experience of being a writer is hard. You factor in being Black, that makes it hard. You factor in being a Black woman, that makes it harder. We have very unique challenges that no one else is going to have,” Garrett said.

Tracy Clark, author of the Cass Raines mystery series, said that when she started out, publishers limited the number of writers of color in the industry. “I had one publisher say, ‘We already have a Black writer,’” Clark said. “We’ve always been there, but there were these old guards only letting one or two of us in at a time.”

Garrett said the road to publication isn’t easy, especially as a person of color.

“If you want to be traditionally published, someone else has to decide that your book is worthy,” Garrett said. “And if they think people aren’t going to buy a Black woman solving a crime, then they’re not going to buy the book. I think that’s what kept people out for a long time.”

Lee & Low Books, a multicultural children’s publisher, released a Diversity Baseline Survey for the publishing industry in 2019, along with Dr. Laura M. Jimenez and Betsy Beckert from Boston University. Researchers contacted publishers around the country and received responses from almost 8,000 participants — from interns to the executive level. The survey found that 76% of the respondents were white. Those who identified as Black, African American or Caribbean American made up only 5% of those working in publishing.

Comparing the results with their first survey in 2015, researchers found “the field is just as white today as it was four years ago.” Editorial departments, which acquire and edit books for publication, was more white than before. The number of those who identified as white increased from 82% to 85% over four years.

However, there was more diversity at the intern level. In 2019, the survey found around 50% of interns identified as a person of color, and 50% of interns also identified as part of the LGBTQ community. Researchers said this could result in more diversity in the long term if interns decide to stay in publishing. Garrett said she believes there has been a change in the industry from when she was first published.

“In 2020, they’re realizing people of color read books and want to see themselves in books, and people who are straight, cis white people want to read about other cultures and other groups as well,” Garrett said.

Once the books are published, however, readers still might avoid going for diverse literature. Alexia Gordon, writer of the Gethsemane Brown series, said her work can be critiqued when it doesn’t fit the perception of what a Black author should write. Readers might pass on a book that Gordon said doesn’t appear to be “Black enough.”

“I’ve had people say, ‘Well why’d you set a book in Ireland? There are no Black people in Ireland,’” Gordon said. “If you can set yours on the moon, I can set mine in Ireland. It’s things like that. If you don’t meet people’s expectations they don’t want to take you seriously or give you a chance.”

Within crime fiction, Garrett and Gordon said publishers and readers might not always take a chance on certain sub-genres, such as domestic suspense or thrillers, when they feature a Black woman — non-black readers, for instance, might think a Black woman’s experience is too far removed from their own.

Garrett said the difference in how a white protagonist’s story plays out versus a Black protagonist is unavoidable, and still is a worthwhile story to tell.

“If I’m a Black woman in the suburbs and my baby goes missing, am I going to be treated the same way as a white woman whose baby goes missing? No, I’m going to jail,” Garrett said.

As her writing career took off, in June 2018, Garrett co-founded — along with Walter Mosley and Gigi Pandian — Crime Writers of Color. The organization offers a supportive space, one that Clark said is necessary.

“That’s our group. That’s our family,” Clark said. “We bolster each other and support each other.”

Clark also noted initiatives such as #ownvoices and the Black Mystery Authors Directory to further help readers find more diverse books and showcase the strong network of writers of color.

In addition to Crime Writers of Color, Clark, Garrett and Gordon are all members of Sisters in Crime, an organization dedicated to women writers in crime fiction.

Lori Rader-day, a crime author and president of Sisters in Crime, believes the road to more diversity needs to extend beyond the first book writers publish.

“I think we often see more diversity at the ‘debut author’ level, but can we find a way to make sure that diverse authors find their audience so that they sell enough books, so that get have a longer career than one book, than two books?” Rader-day said.

With the camaraderie in her various groups, especially Crime Writers of Color, Garrett is optimistic writers of color can have long and successful careers past their first book. If she could ask anything of readers, Garrett said she would want them to search for authors with different backgrounds than their own.

“People are people deep down,” Garrett said. “I just want them to expand their mind and try and look and know that there’s a whole new world that they’ll learn about if they read something not by just a straight, cis man.”

Clark agreed that readers should be eager to read crime fiction from women of color.

“We’re writing crime fiction. That’s the main point. The color of the characters shouldn’t frighten them,” Clark said. “Just open up, dig in and you’ll enjoy yourself.”