Diversity on The Middle Shelf: a rub in April

Art by Joshua Mays.

As all the regular readers of the Middle Shelf know, diversity is extremely important here.
The blog was open with one initial goal: to alternate reviews about books written by male writers and books written by female writers. In 2016, I added another guideline: a fourth of all the reviews per calendar year would be about writers of colour. In 2017, I am aiming for a third.
And so far, so good. I have no trouble finding excellent stories by female writers or by PoC writers even if, when it comes to PoC writers, there aren't that many offerings.
The problem is that in April I've decided to review novels I've liked from the Clarke Award submission list... And there are only five writers of colour on it.

One is The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. I've loved it. But I have already reviewed it (it's here).
Another one is Ninefox Gambit by Yoon-Ha Lee. I've read it, liked it, but I have already planned to use it for one of the Collections I'll publish in November.
One is The Rise of Io by Wesley Chu. I haven't read it because from what I could read here and there it didn't feel as something that would be my cup of tea. Of course I may be wrong and I'd be happy to be proven wrong, but the fact is there were other stories that intrigued me more and my to-be-read list is already huge enough as it is (any reader will know what I mean...).
One is Death's End by Cixin Liu. I liked it less than the previous two but, basically, I read it and reviewed it already (here).
Last but not least, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. I read it, liked it very very much... But to me, it's not really scifi. But I am planning a collection about "Novels that blur the genres" just for it.

It should be noted that it's not the Clarke Award fault: the submission list is made of what publishers submit for consideration for the award. The fault, once again, lie with them.

So basically, what does it mean?
It means that since January 2017, once a month there was a review of an SFF novel by a writer of colour on The Middle Shelf, but there won't be in April.
It really annoys me and it annoys me even more because I know some of my regular readers are following the blog because the diversity on The Middle Shelf is important to them too.
But (happy but) in May I'll review two novels by writers of colour (and they will be great offerings!) so balance will be restored to the galaxy! Or at least on this blog! Or, "balance" if you consider that a third is balance... Let's say a "starting place to more visibility" then!

In the meantime, I hope everyone will enjoy the three reviews planned for April because those three books are exceptional, unique, and really worth your reading time!