Diversity in publishing – still hideously middle-class and white?

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'

Diversity in publishing – still hideously middle-class and white?

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