Diversity may be under attack in some corners of the country, but Publishing in Color (PIC), which held its virtual conference Oct. 27–31, is undeterred from its mission to bring all voices into Christian publishing.
PIC’s intention, according to director and owner Joyce Dinkins, is “to open up the publishing field” to voices that have long been kept on its margins.“We prioritize serving writers of color in order to overcome persistent racial prejudice that has repressed ethnic diversity in Christian content development for decades,” says Dinkins.
Founded by Brian Allain for that purpose in 2018, Dinkins took over in 2023 with her son, David Dinkins, as primary advisor, and is working in collaboration with the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association (ECPA) and its member publishers.
Joyce Dinkins points to PW’s 2021 story The Unbearable Whiteness of Publishing Revisited, among other research findings, to highlight the “insidious exclusion in C-suites to editorial staffing, internships, author acquisitions, marketing, staff and author compensation” related to people of color.
"God allows PIC to bring about solutions. Rather than waste time bleating over persistent prejudice—we offer opportunities,” she said. “Thank God for the gifted individuals who are part of PIC, and for PW and others, who shine light on efforts to enhance Christian publishing for all, especially as audiences increasingly seek multiethnic representation.”
The recent PIC conference had nearly 40 paid registrants, 32 individuals on scholarship, 30 session speakers, three worship leaders, and four special lunchtime guests that included authors Marie Chan and Dorena Williamson, Stan Washington of Honor Services, and Toria Keyes of Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Author and blogger Karen Moore led a session entitled “How to Determine When an Idea is Big Enough to Become a Book,” saying, “The most important thing you can do with an idea is letting it do what it was made to do: change the lives of others.”
Lisa Crayton, an author and editor, later spoke on “Revision Strategies that Work,” suggesting that instead of writers spending more time writing than revising, it should be the other way around. She suggested “framing the revision process around biblical postures found in the book of Luke such as humility, diligence, attentiveness, and stillness.”
The majority of sessions were recorded live during the five-day conference, though some were pre-recorded with live Q&A session following the workshop airing. Some of the most watched so far, according to Dinkins, include Lluvia Agustin’s “Turning Pages into Profit”; Sharon Norris Eliot’s workshop on effective use of the table of contents and synopsis in a book proposal; and David Dinkins’s “AI and You: Applying Christian Ethics to Artificial Intelligence Tools.” Additional workshops included writing for children, devotional writing, public speaking, getting a literary agent, and writing nonfiction book proposals.
David Dinkins pointed out that writers of color have "the exact same struggles as any new writer or content creator. It’s just that those struggles are exacerbated by a lack of representation and opportunities in an industry dominated by European American content, and audiences that are conditioned to accept more of the same, even unconsciously.” He added, “There is no argument to be had: ethnic diversity is biblical. We see it throughout Scripture.”
The next PIC events take place in April and November 2026, and a new website with additional resources for writers is set to launch in the near future. In addition, Joyce Dinkins, with Linda M. Washington, served as a general editor for the upcoming book Free to Write: Essential Insights to Equip and Encourage Christian Writers of Color with Global Christian Family Books, releasing in September 2026.
