, also found success with Publishing in Color, having attended a few conferences in person and online. An author of mixed heritage with a passion for multiculturalism, Gilmore-Young connected with her editor, Bunmi Ishola, through PIC. She has two new picture book releases for 2023 and 2024, including Chasing God’s Glory.

For journalist Chanté Griffin, her first PIC conference experience was invaluable. In addition to attracting interest in her book pitch, Griffin also discovered meaningful relationships with other Christian writers, primarily women, who are “godly people.”

“We’re encouraging each other with our books,” she told FM, after mentioning exclusive Facebook groups where some of these writers interact.

Griffin is also a SAG-AFTRA performer who is used to giving her all in auditions and rarely getting favorable results.

“So I approached the conference thinking, ‘Wow if I could leave with a couple of business cards, I have been successful,’” she told FM.

But the experience gave her more than she had imagined. Griffin left impressed primarily by the attitude of agents she spoke with who seemed genuinely interested in her work.

“I don’t know how much of that to attribute to that they were looking for Black authors in particular,” she said. “But I think part of it [was] they were just looking for good stories and were looking for hot topics and were looking for strong writers.”

Griffin hit all three marks.

Thanks to the conference, she found her agent, Jevon Bolden of Embolden Media Group. That relationship eventually led to a six-figure deal for Griffin’s debut book, Loving Your Black Neighbor as Yourself. It’s scheduled to be published in 2024 by WaterBrook, a Christian imprint of Penguin Random House.

Making It Work

Bolden, also a former acquisitions editor, is a firebrand for diversity and inclusion in her own right. With over 20 years under her belt, she sees Allain as a “door opener” and a “trailblazer” for acting on longstanding inequity issues in publishing.

“I think [PIC’s] impact is significant, and I think it’s just really making room for others to follow suit,” Bolden, who is African American, told FM.

Both Bolden and Dinkins, PIC’s new owner, sit on the ECPA’s DEI committee. The committee was organized to help trade association members reflect the “multiethnic kingdom of God” in their publishing and hiring practices.

Bolden began collaborating with Allain after the first PIC conference.

Initially struck by PIC’s mission, the literary agent was also impressed by Allain’s focus on keeping conferences accessible.

Writers conferences can cost hundreds of dollars to attend, usually in addition to lodging and travel expenses. So early on, Allain focused on keeping costs comparatively low and developed a scholarship fund to assist cash-strapped attendees.

Originally, PIC relied heavily on corporate sponsorships and donations but eventually became self-sustaining.

Allain never paid industry pros to participate in conferences. But he did pay authors of color whom he invited to speak and sometimes paid for their transportation. And on some occasions, he paid venue rental fees out of pocket.

“I lost money on maybe a couple of the conferences, but made money on the rest of them,” Allain told FM. “And my goal with Publishing in Color never was to make it a profit center, to make money off of it.”

Instead, he wanted to “kind of break even or do a little bit better so that I could [support] the scholarship fund. And that’s what ended up happening.”

Allain said the scholarship fund was the only money that changed hands when Dinkins took ownership of Publishing in Color.

Stepping Aside

Allain knew some people would be skeptical about a White man spearheading a program to serve Black authors and other writers of color.

But Bolden, among his initial skeptics, found that Allain was “super aware” of the sensitivities surrounding his work.

“He knew that he had certain privileges that would open doors,” she said, before noting Allain’s “strong relationships” with people in publishing.

“He was willing to leverage those [relationships] to get those doors open. But he was very clear from the beginning — he was not planning on leading [PIC] forever, and he wanted to pass it on to a person of color,” she said.

Although he “made it work as an old White guy,” Allain had asked Dinkins, 73, on more than one occasion if she would consider taking over PIC.

According to Dinkins, the timing was never quite right.

But then she retired. And, after some consultation with close friends and counselors, Dinkins was finally free to say “yes.”

“I felt that this was something that I could continue to invest in and be part of,” said Dinkins, who is passionate about “giving away” all she has learned.

Dinkins initially spent some years as a journalist before going to work for David C. Cook Publishing. There, she pioneered the “Echoes” curriculum that provides Bible instruction “while celebrating African American heritage and faith.”

She felt strongly that making Christian iconography and storytelling ethnically inclusive was important. So it wasn’t surprising when she took that same innovative spirit years later to Our Daily Bread Ministries and helped launch their African American-centered “Voices” collection.

Dinkins has wasted no time revamping Publishing in Color’s website and broadening its mission to equip, encourage, and connect Christian creatives.

“I’m beginning to expand to include not only writers but illustrators, speakers, podcasters,” she told FM.

The next Publishing in Color conference begins October 30.

At 67, Allain still runs three other programs, including Finding Your Next Calling, a community that offers resources and training for entrepreneurs. But those businesses are on pause as he begins treatment for a new cancer diagnosis.

Although he “couldn’t be more pleased” with how the ownership transitions for Writing for Your Life and Publishing in Color turned out, he still has one minor regret.

“I tried to broaden the base of Publishing in Color beyond African Americans to Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans,” Allain said. “But despite whatever outreach or advertising I did, the conference was always more widely attended by African Americans.”

But that was OK.

“It was still enough folks that we made a go of it and made what I hope was a really good contribution,” Allain said.