Two years ago, we called publishers to account for the glaring lack of diversity in the industry. Pledges were made and initiatives set up. Have things improved?Find out about the new projects to encourage inclusivity in the book businessIn December 2015, British publishing stood accused of woeful blindness to diversity, and not for the first time, after World Book Night (WBN) announced its titles, and none of the 15 books was by a writer of colour. An apology was issued by organisers but a wider malaise had already set in, and along with it, the troubling feeling that WBN’s oversight was less an isolated incident and more a recurring pattern of exclusion that stretched across the literary establishment.A report on the state of the books industry had been published earlier that year by the development agency Spread the Word, which drew attention to how intransigently white, middle-class (and further up the ladder, male) it remained, from literary festivals and prizes to publications and personnel. Then, last autumn, there was more embarrassing exposure when World Book Day – which focuses on children’s titles – issued its own all-white book list and an independent publisher flagged up the fact that only one black, British male debut novelist had been published in 2016. Earlier this year, there was talk of a boycott when the Carnegie medal for children’s literature revealed its all-white longlist. Related: Only 4.8% of TV writers are black. As one of them, I know the system... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The UK's first academic study on diversity in trade publishing and fiction has called for the industry to “radically reimagine” its audience and value readers outside the white middle classes. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-22 22:54:17 UTC ]
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Dapo Adeola will be speaking to Ken Wilson-Max on Instagram Live this week about their experiences as two of just four black British illustrators currently being published in children's books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-15 09:32:54 UTC ]
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Hachette Children’s Group has revealed it is publishing "Paddington" scriptwriter Simon Farnaby's first children's book, The Wizard in my Shed, kicking off a series. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-05 08:54:41 UTC ]
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Religion publishers are leading discussions about race in an attempt to explain how white Christians can help heal racial divisions in several new books publishing between now and fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The annual “State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report” has been released, surveying more than 2,400 romance titles published in 2019. It discovered that for every 100 romance books published in 2019, only 8.3 were written by people of color. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Children’s book publisher Lee & Low Books, a minority-owned company that focuses on multicultural literature, recently released the results of a survey geared towards finding out one thing: What do the numbers say about the widely perceived lack of diversity in the publishing world? The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-29 21:40:46 UTC ]
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In 1898, corruption and violence drove blacks from Wilmington, N.C., writes David Zucchino. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-24 02:32:12 UTC ]
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People from BME backgrounds working within the children’s literature sector have been frustrated by racism and microaggressions, unconscious bias, and inequality of access, according to a new report by Arts Council England. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-04 20:27:05 UTC ]
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Arabic publishing is in crisis, the celebrated Palestinian poet and writer Mourid Barghouti told delegates at the International Publishers Association’s (IPA) first ever Middle East Seminar. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-01 13:24:16 UTC ]
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Jennifer Baker is this year’s PW Star Watch Superstar. We spoke to Baker after her win about her experiences in the book business, the work she does to make the industry more diverse, and what needs to change in publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Nicola Sturgeon has said making publishing more diverse is "essential" - both to better reflect society and to remain economically successful. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-28 23:33:35 UTC ]
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Malorie Blackman laments the lack of BAME children’s characters. I know – it’s a real battle to get writers of colour publishedMy daughter, like me, is of mixed heritage. She has wildly curly hair, as have I. When she was born four years ago I was given five copies of the same kids’ picture book... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-08-17 07:00:41 UTC ]
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Pat Barker says she has a distrust of the publishing industry’s regional and class diversity drives because it could be "fashionable" and may not represent a long-term commitment. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-27 18:57:47 UTC ]
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Yorkshire-based Bluemoose Books has experienced the benefits of operating outside London; co-founder Kevin Duffy suggests other publishers should look beyond the confines of the capital, too. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CILIP, the library and information association, is going to promote diverse and inclusive children’s literature via a new magazine, Pen&inc. The first edition of Pen&inc launches today (2nd May) with information about 450 titles, submitted by publishers ranging from Egmont and Hachette... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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People of Color In Publishing and We Need Diverse Books teamed up for a town hall this month that shows how far publishing has come regarding diversity—and how much further it needs to go. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dave O'Brien investigates the hidden barriers that have resulted in major underrepresentation in publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Five years after a report into the trade that induced many measures to change the publishing industry, a new text will assess the current state of play. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Noel Murphy discusses what more can be done to encourage and develop more working class readers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite concentration of publishers in London, only 11% of respondents identified as BAME – significantly lower than average of 40% in the cityA major survey of the UK’s publishing workforce has found that “significant progress” still needs to be made on both the numbers of black, Asian and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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