Reviews & Promotion

What kind of books do you review?

We review young adult books (both fiction and non-fiction) that are written by Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) authors or star BIPOC characters. (In this context, “star” means the BIPOC characters should be the primary viewpoint or co-viewpoint in fiction or be the focus/subject in nonfiction.) We review approximately 40 titles every year, including a handful of group discussion reviews.

We do not review picture books, chapter books, middle grade, or adult titles. At this time, we do not review self-published or e-book only titles.

You can check out our book reviews category to see all of our reviews. You can also search a book by its title to check if we have posted about it.

How do you rate books?

Get it now. This book is definitely worth tracking down as soon as you can, especially if you love the genres! It’s pretty close to perfect (in our humble opinion), and any flaws it has are minimal. This is a book that you’ll find yourself recommending to others over and over.

Get it soon. This is a book you’ll want to bump up several slots on your to-read list. Fans of the genre will really enjoy this book, and it’s still a solid read if these genres aren’t normally your thing. There are some things we may criticize, but the book is still enjoyable.

Borrow it someday. Unless the premise really speaks to you, this may not be the book for you. Check it out if you’re curious, but there are some things here that we think keep the book from being great.

Just skip it. The book has significant issues that greatly detract from a reader’s enjoyment.

What if a book is missing or has incorrect information on the release calendar?

If you know of any upcoming young adult books that would qualify for our site (see above) that are not already listed on our release calendar or are listed incorrectly, email us at richincolorteam@gmail.com with the subject line “RELEASE CALENDAR” or tag us on Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram.

Where do you get your review copies?

We frequently buy the books ourselves, though we occasionally borrow them from friends, check them out at the library, or receive review copies from publishers or authors. All reviews include the source for the book.

If you are a publisher, author, or publicist and wish to send us a review copy for consideration, please email us at richincolorteam@gmail.com and indicate whether digital ARCs, physical ARCs, or final copies are available. Please note that several of our bloggers strongly prefer physical books over digital. While we review approximately 40 titles every year, our schedule tends to fill up quickly, so early contact is preferable.

Besides reviews, what other ways do you promote books?

In addition to including upcoming books in our release calendar and our new releases posts, we are actively seeking interviews, chapter previews, giveaways, and other marketing activities for new books that qualify for our site, including participating in blog tours and receiving review copies. We reserve the right to decline to promote a book.

We are particularly interested in debut BIPOC authors. Posts will be scheduled as close as possible to the book’s release date, though prior commitments may preclude a preferred date. Please contact the team at richincolorteam@gmail.com to discuss promotional activity for upcoming books.