Avon Books Announces First Recipient of The Beverly Jenkins Diverse Voices Sponsorship

Avon Books is pleased to announce that aspiring author and Golden Heart® finalist Valen Cox is the first recipient of the Beverly Jenkins Diverse Voices Sponsorship.

The sponsorship, named after author Beverly Jenkins, a romance trailblazer and one of the most active supporters for diverse authors, includes registration fee, travel and lodging (up to $2,500). The winner also receives a one-on-one meeting with a member of the Avon Books editorial team and an invitation to several exclusive Avon events during the annual conference. The opportunity to enter the Beverly Jenkins Diverse Voices Sponsorship was made available to current members of the RWA who entered the Golden Heart or RITA® Award Contests and were verified by the RWA as meeting RWA’s definition of being from a diverse background. The active fostering of diverse voices in Romance is the current top priority for the genre, and Avon Books has made an initial commitment to support this sponsorship for five years, from 2019 through 2023.

Cox, a 2019 Golden Heart® finalist in the paranormal romance category, noted in her application that she is of Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese descent. In her essay, she detailed the history of her family, as well as the pride in her diverse ancestry: “The amazing strength and perseverance of my peoples for what they withstood is in every fiber of my being. To share my stories as an author coming from such enduring people would be a lifetime dream.”

After Cox was selected, she was informed via a personal phone call by Beverly Jenkins. “We played telephone tag a few times before connecting,” said Jenkins. “Once we did and I told her she’d won, we were both in tears. Many thanks to Avon for providing this incredible opportunity.”

“For some time now, I have admired Beverly Jenkins from afar as she has actively stepped into the limelight to represent the under-represented,” said Valen Cox, in response to her selection. Cox continued, “She has done it all with grace, dignity, and an inclusiveness that should be emulated by us all. To receive Beverly’s call, notifying me of my selection to receive a sponsorship named in her honor, will always stand as a highlight in my life.”

“I’m thrilled we have our first recipient of the Beverly Jenkins Diverse Voices Scholarship,” says Avon Editorial Director Erika Tsang, “Valen’s personal background, along with the strides she’s already making with her writing, makes me extremely excited to meet her. I’m eager to help her along on her journey to becoming a published author.”

The 2019 RWA Conference will take place in New York City from July 24 to July 27^th, 2019.

About HarperCollins:
HarperCollins Publishers is the second largest consumer book publisher in the world, with operations in 17 countries. With 200 years of history and more than 120 branded imprints around the world, HarperCollins publishes approximately 10,000 new books every year in 16 languages and has a print and digital catalog of more than 200,000 titles. Writing across dozens of genres, HarperCollins authors include winners of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals and the Man Booker Prize. HarperCollins, headquartered in New York, is a subsidiary of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) and can be visited online at corporate.HC.com.

Per RWA’s Policy and Procedure Manual:
“Diverse Background” refers to a member of RWA who comes from a historically underrepresented background. These backgrounds include, but are not limited to, underrepresented communities of race, color, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, and religion.

Avon Books embraces authors of all gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religion, national origin and ability.