Normalising the Miracle: Racial Diversity in Publishing and the Stories We Grow at Home

For a Thai author writing in English, being invited to open a librarians’ conference at her old high school still feels like a small miracle. In this keynote, Pim Wangtechawat, author of The Moon Represents My Heart and I Dreamed of You, traces her path from a childhood spent in school libraries, and in the library she built for herself, to becoming a published novelist. She is candid about the privileges that made that path possible, and about why it remains so rare for writers of colour.

Drawing on her own experience, she looks at how the publishing industry shapes which stories reach readers, and what that means for the collections librarians build. She closes with a practical call to action: to connect with and champion local Thai students and young writers at the grassroots level, so that the miracle becomes a little more ordinary.

The keynote will be followed by a Q&A.