A charity aiming for all rainbow youth to have a sense of belonging is celebrating its third Out on the Shelves campaign.

InsideOUT is a national charity with the vision for all rainbow young people to have a sense of belonging and safety in their schools and communities.

This year Out on the Shelves coincides with the first national Schools Pride Week running from August 24 to 28.

InsideOUT managing director Tabby Besley says the latest Youth 2019 research shows depressive symptoms have increased for rainbow young people since 2012 and they are still far less likely than other young people to feel a sense of safety or belonging at school.

"Visibility and representation can make a difference to a young person's wellbeing and sense of inclusion. Out on the Shelves provides a small, accessible way for any school or public library to show support for their rainbow students and normalise their identities."

The Out on the Shelves campaign runs until August 30 and is an opportunity for schools and community libraries across New Zealand to promote more visibility and increase literacy amongst young people.

During this annual event, InsideOUT encourages libraries to build and promote their rainbow collections, celebrate rainbow stories and help connect rainbow young people with these stories and with each other.

At its heart, Out on the Shelves is also an online resource that helps rainbow young people find stories that mirror their identities in positive and affirming ways. The resource chronicles books with rainbow themes and characters.

As part of the Out on the Shelves campaign, InsideOUT is hosting two online events. The first is a Zoom/FacebookLIVE author event featuring four authors from Aotearoa's rainbow community taking place on August 19 from 5.30pm - 6.30pm.

Poet Essa May Ranapiri, memoir-writer Lil O-Brien, poet Hera Lindsay Bird and comic/illustrator Sam Orchard will be sharing pieces of their work as well as answering questions. The second event is an InstagramLIVE Poetry Event taking place on August 26 from 5.30pm - 6.30pm, with young people across New Zealand encouraged to share a piece of their work across the platform.

This year, InsideOUT is also running a rainbow writing competition. People aged 16 and under and 16 to 24 can enter with a rainbow-themed poem or piece of flash fiction for the chance to win a $50 book voucher and a copy of ‘Not That I'd Kiss A Girl'.

Shortlisted pieces will be featured in an Out on the Shelves zine, as well as being featured on the website. Entries are open until 30.

For more information visit the website.