A new report looking at diversity and representation in children’s books has been released.
The Reflecting Realities survey by The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) charity, is released each year and looks at how different races are represented in children’s books.
This year the report showed that the number of children’s books published with a Black, Asian or mixed race character increased from 4% in 2017 to 20% in 2021.
It was started to help make sure all children have the chance to see themselves represented in the books they read.
Louise Johns-Shepherd, who is the boss of CLPE, said: ‘We are delighted to see the upward trend in numbers, we are determined that it won’t be a ‘trend’ that disappears or that dips.
“We believe in the power of children’s literature to change lives and we believe meaningfully inclusive representative casts of characters in children’s literature make books better.”
The report looked at 5,383 children’s fiction, non-fiction and picture-books, which were published in the UK in 2021.
Of these 1,059 books featured characters of colour – around 20%, compared with 4% in 2017.
Around 9% of the books had a main character from an ethnic minority background, compared with just 1% in 2017.
Of the three types of books reviewed, fiction is the area that has seen the slowest and smallest change with 11% of fiction books featuring Black, Asian or mixed race characters.
Author Konnie Huq said: “It’s so important for readers to see themselves and important aspects of the real world we live in represented in the books they read.
“Books give readers empathy and understanding of the world. Diversity and inclusivity, good morals and values are key.”
GINA YASHERE has penned her first ever memoir, Cack-Handed, available to purchase later this year.
Touching upon issues of social class, racism and sexuality, Cack-Handed is a collection of eccentric and uproarious stories that reveal how Yashere’s upbringing as a child of Nigerian immigrants in working-class London became the foundation of her incredibly successful career as an international comic.
The co-executive producer and writer of the CBS hit series Bob Hearts Abishola also chronicles her odyssey to get to America and break into Hollywood in this lively and humorous literary offering.
According to family superstition, Yashere was born to fulfil the dreams of her grandmother Patience.
The powerful first wife of a wealthy businessman, Patience was poisoned by her jealous sister-wives and marked with a spot on her neck. From birth, Yashere carried a similar birthmark – a sign that she was her grandmother’s chosen heir, and would fulfil Patience’s dreams. Yashere would learn to speak perfect English, live unfettered by men or children, work a man’s job, and travel the world with a free spirit.
Is she the reincarnation of her grandmother? Maybe. Yashere isn’t ruling anything out.
In Cack-Handed, she recalls her intergenerational journey to success foretold by her grandmother and fulfilled thousands of miles from home.
This hilarious memoir tells the story of how from growing up as a child of Nigerian immigrants in working class London, running from skinheads, and her overprotective mum, Yashere went on to become the first female engineer with the UK branch of Otis, the largest elevator company in the world, where she went through a baptism of fire from her racist and sexist co-workers.
Not believing her life was difficult enough, she later left engineering to become a stand up comic, appearing on numerous television shows and becoming one of the top comedians in the UK, before giving it all up to move to the US, a dream she’d had since she was six years old, watching American kids on television, riding cool bicycles, and solving crimes.
She won Merky Books’ New Writers prize with just a few chapters of her enrapturing debut, ‘We Are All Birds of Uganda’. The enlightening book is out now.
It’s been a long road to literary eminence for Hafsa Zayyan. The London-based author’s debut, titled We Are All Birds of Uganda, was released just a few weeks ago, but it has been finished for close to two years; before that, the story had been “stewing in [her] mind for a while”. This book, a sprawling and epic dual narrative, spoke of her lived experience, but that which she’d seldom seen in the books she read: a story of cross-generational divides, and being both Black and South Asian. “The interaction between these two communities was always something I was interested in,” she says, speaking over the phone almost a year before the book was released, coronavirus stalling things a little. “But I had a job and a life, and I just assumed I’d never write it. Then the competition came along, and it happened.”
The competition she’s referring to? #Merky Books’ seminal New Writers Prize, an award that, in its inaugural year, selected two novelists under 30 to mentor, eventually publishing their debut works. Part of Penguin, #Merky Books is, of course, an imprint curated by Stormzy that focuses on amplifying the often unsung voices of marginalised writers. For a famously impenetrable world, it’s a lifeline for those with talent but fewer industry connections.
All it took was four pages of A4 to change Hafsa’s life. A dispute resolution lawyer, she had loved writing as a kid, but as she started work after graduating from Cambridge University, “the writing thing took a backseat”. But when the competition opened, the idea was in her head, and she submitted the required 2,500 words, assuming it wouldn’t go anywhere. Thankfully, it did.
Set both in contemporary Britain and 60s Uganda, shortly before the Asian Expulsion, We Are All Birds of Uganda is a lyrical and enlightening story of two life experiences aligning despite decades separating them. In Uganda, Hasan is a man grieving the loss of his wife, rebuilding his successful business as the expulsion unfolds, an event that forced the mass removal of the country’s 80,000-strong population of Gujaratis (over a quarter of whom came to Britain). In contemporary Britain, Sameer is the epitome of city success: a lawyer whose track record has invited him to kickstart his London firm’s new office in Singapore. But it’s news he fears to tell his family; dealing with their own tragedy, they yearn to have him closer to home. He’s torn between familial expectation and personal motivation.
It’s woven together with gentle urgency; sensitive and with a rare perspective on how our mixed race backgrounds can help form feelings of both internal power and conflict. Having moved around the world as a kid, from Saudi Arabia to the United States, Hafsa’s family permanently moved to the UK when she was nine. Her mother’s Pakistani culture shaped much of her own, but her father’s Nigerian heritage gave her “the exterior” of a Black woman. “I had an entire South Asian family who were lovely and accepting, but in South Asian communities I felt rejected because of the way I looked,” she says. “People wouldn’t believe me when I said I was South Asian, but on my Nigeria side, I was expected to know everything about how to be a Nigerian woman. It was a strange dual identity.”
In this conversation, Hafsa unpacks how that dual identity led to her telling the story of a lifetime.
**There’s an underlying narrative of displacement and battling against expectations running through this book, but how do you describe it to people? **It’s hard to give it a one sentence answer! The first thing I thought when I sat down was the concept of identity, home and what it means to belong. That ties in with the generational perspectives: the generation immediately above you, or two above you. Your experiences are perhaps similar to theirs, but you don’t realise that. Then, in terms of race, it’s about how Sameer, the modern protagonist, is treated, realising that he’s been a subject of racism that he hasn’t clocked before. You see how Sameer perceives Black people, and how white people perceive him. It overlaps. And the last is success: what it means to be successful, and how you reconcile success as a millennial. How the ones who didn’t come from “nothing” came from their pasts into paths of success.
**It deals with weighty and vital issues, but it’s also teeming with joy and ambition too. What had you seen out there already that you were hoping to subvert? **I never really saw myself anywhere. Not the Black perspective, or the Asian perspective, but the mixed perspective. Being half-Nigerian, half-Pakistani is not something that’s [common] — I don’t know anyone beyond my siblings and I. I wanted to explore that relationship and how it all works. In my mind there’s no popular or mainstream fiction or non-fiction that deals with this specific topic. Trying to read into it from a non-academic perspective, Black and Asian communities and how they mix, was quite hard. There’s obviously a lot out there about the Ugandan Asian Expulsion. It, for me, was one of those things I hadn’t seen talked about — probably because I didn’t know anyone who had learned about it.
Do you see this as an educational tool? That’s absolutely the goal. From the historical angle, it’s a highly fictionalised account but a lot of research did go into it. I hope people will look into the expulsion afterwards. There will be a long bibliography here! [I also hope people look into] what happens to Sameer, things that people may do subconsciously: racial microaggressions, like [when his friend is] sending brown emojis when he’s not brown, not thinking it may offend whoever he’s sending it to.
**Was there any part of the process of writing this arduous emotionally? **A lot of the things that happen in the book are lived experiences. I’m too close to the subject matter to become phased by it. You sort of become numb and expect it; you feel sad that it’s not surprising. So it wasn’t uncomfortable to write, it was genuine.
What I would hope, is that people reading it who haven’t had those experiences can feel uncomfortable and question the perspectives of some of these characters. I want them to engage in a dialogue about it. A person reading the book from Sameer’s perspective might think he’s perpetuating the white gaze, but this is a brown gaze. South Asian people do this as well. He’s subconsciously reflecting his own prejudices and perspectives. It’s part of the reason why the dual narrative was so important, between historical perceptions and what we see as right and wrong now. White people might see themselves in Sameer’s shoes.
**I read an interview with Brandon Taylor recently about his dislike of writers referring to his work, and work by non-white people, as “visceral” or “raw”. Do you have an idea of how you’d like people to perceive this? **I think it’s partly down to the author: just because I’m Black, how will people perceive my book? It’s also partly a question of the questions contained in the book. If I wrote a book about a white person, maybe they wouldn’t think any differently as to if a white person had written it. Obviously, the story is written from a South Asian perspective. You have that strange duality. I don’t know how it will be perceived — I just look forward to hearing it! I’m not expecting anything.
**Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to write but doesn’t know where to start? **If you don’t feel like you’ve got the time to write, enter competitions, because you have a reason to do something! Since I won this, I’ve come across so many of them. The great thing is if you can enter three chapters, you can write three chapters. Personally, I need someone telling me ‘If you don’t do this by his time, then you’ll miss out on this opportunity’. I really admire people who are already super self-motivated. I don’t know how they do it. But if you’re super keen and can find the time, keep at it. Don’t let it fall by the wayside. Write anyway. Take a break then come back to it. It’s important.
**Now you’ve done this, do you consider giving up the day job? **I love my day job, so I wouldn’t want to give it up easily, but I also really love this writing thing. Who knows? I definitely have more stories to tell, but I don’t know when I will tell them!
Bookouture and Dahlia Books join forces on an exclusive call-out for writers from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds
Bookouture, in association with The Asian Writer and Dahlia Books, are putting out an exclusive call-out for commercial fiction submissions from unagented and unpublished writers from BAME backgrounds and will be offering professional editorial feedback on the synopsis and first three chapters for the month of August.
Lucy Dauman, Associate Publisher at Bookouture, said: ‘We are committed to diversifying our list and ensuring that voices from all backgrounds are heard. It’s more apparent than ever that writers from BAME backgrounds are under-represented in publishing and we hope that, by helping to shape the pitch and those all-important first chapters, we can add real value to a writer’s publication journey and discover some exciting new voices in commercial fiction.’
Farhana Shaikh, Founder of Dahlia Books and The Asian Writer, said: ‘We’re seeing lots of publishers rushing to diversify their lists which is right and long overdue. I’m thrilled to see that Bookouture are going one step further. Working with Lucy at Bookouture to bring this opportunity to writers from diverse backgrounds has been incredibly heartwarming. It’s a fantastic opportunity for BAME writers to receive editorial feedback, which I’m certain will help them to develop their writing talent and support their journey to publication.’
Writers should submit a short bio, a synopsis (of up to 1,000 words) and the first three chapters/50 pages (up to a total of 10,000 words) here.
The inbox will open at 12.00am on Saturday 1 August 2020 and the deadline for submissions is 11.59pm on Monday 31 August 2020*.
Each submission will be read by a member of the Bookouture editorial team, who will provide editorial feedback within six weeks from the date of submission. The feedback will cover the hook and the pitch, as well as the writing style and impact of the opening chapters. We will also advise on genre and where the author thinks this sits in the market.
For more information on what Bookouture are looking for, click here
*If you are not able to submit to us in August, we would still love to read your submission via the usual submissions platform on our website. However, while we respond to all submissions and give feedback where we can, beyond the month of August, we will not be able to give the same detailed editorial feedback.
As people seek to educate themselves in response to Black Lives Matter protests, sales of books by black British authors, such as Reni Eddo-Lodge and Bernadine Evaristo, have topped the UK bestseller lists. Several recent prestigious awards have also been won by black writers, including Candice Carty-Williams who won book of the year for Queenie at the British Book Awards. Although proud of her achievement, she was also “sad and confused” on discovering she was the first black author to win this award in its 25-year history.
While these firsts must be celebrated, they also shine a light on publishing’s systemic practices, which have maintained inequalities and under-representation for black, Asian and minority ethnic writers and diverse books. Despite awareness of its shortcomings and years of debates and initiatives (diversity schemes, blind recruiting practices and manuscript submission processes) the industry has generally failed to achieve lasting change. This is because they fail to address the broader systemic inequalities faced by people of colour, which contribute to ongoing under-representation in the industry.
A substantial market
Our research on diversity in children’s publishing included an online survey of 330 responses and 28 in-depth follow-up interviews with people working across the sector. We found that a key barrier has been the ingrained perception among industry decision-makers that there is a limited market for diverse books. This is a belief that books written by black and diverse authors or featuring non-white characters just don’t sell.
This perception is seen across the industry, including in children’s literature. This is despite evidence of substantial markets. For instance, a third of English primary pupils are from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background. However, a report by the Centre For Literacy in Primary Education revealed that although the number of black, Asian and minority ethnic protagonists in children’s books had increased from 1% in 2017 to 4% in 2018, there is still a long way to go to achieve representation that reflects the UK population.
What we found was that the lack of role models in the books read by children and young people of colour meant that they were less likely to aspire to careers in the sector. From those we spoke to, this was compounded by the lack of diversity, particularly in senior roles, in publishing. For those who had pursued a publishing career, experiences of everyday racism and microaggressions were widespread. This added to feelings of frustration and a sense that they were not welcome or did not belong in the industry.
Commissioning problems
This all has a knock-on effect on what gets published. Authors of colour that we spoke to expressed frustration about the commissioning process. This included quotas for books by or featuring people of colour, a perceived limited appeal for these books and a feeling that authors of colour could only write about race issues.
Reliance on “traditional routes” to publishing also disadvantages black and working-class authors. Publishers reported receiving high volumes of submissions and heavy workloads led to them relying on established writers rather than seeking out new, diverse talent. This has the impact of narrowing the pool of authors from which books are published.
Our participants – including authors, illustrators, editorial assistants and agents – widely reported that a lack of cultural understanding can also lead to the view that diverse books are a riskier investment. They explained how limited promotion and marketing budgets often resulted in lower sales, reinforcing perceptions of limited demand. From their experience, miscommunication at subsequent points along the supply chain about the demand for and availability of diverse books means that those that are published may not even reach bookshop shelves.
These interconnected factors (among others) create a negative cycle which perpetuates the lack of representation of minorities across all parts of the sector, including the lack of authors of colour being nominated for prizes and awards. Recommendations from our research include ensuring diversity on selection panels for events and awards and some good work is already taking place. However, more systematic collaboration and commitment from the sector will be required to produce lasting and meaningful changes and achieve equality and representation.
Our research participants pointed out that social media was allowing individuals to more effectively come together and raise their voices in support of diversity and representation. They expressed hope that this may help to drive forward meaningful and lasting change in the sector. There are signs that this may be the case with recent campaigns emerging in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The #publishingpaidme campaign highlighted racial disparities in publishing advances. The publisher Amistad, an imprint of Harper Collins dedicated to multicultural voices, ran the campaign #BlackoutBestsellerList and #BlackPublishingPower to draw attention to black authors and book professionals and demonstrate the market for these books. The newly formed Black Writers’ Guild, including many of Britain’s best-known authors and poets, wrote an open letter airing concerns and demanding immediate action from publishers. The hope is that these campaigns can focus the industry on bringing about meaningful change.
Change comes in all shapes and sizes, causing seismic shifts and small ripples in industries, businesses and the economy. In the series “Changemakers,” Marketplace explores the changes five women have made in their respective industries, and what they hope to see moving forward.
In 2017 book editor Aimée Felone left her job with Scholastic book publishers to create her own company, Knights Of, with David Stevens. Their goal was simple: to publish inclusive children’s books. One year later, they launched the London-based bookstore “Round Table Books.”
Their work resonated with the British public, in part because in the same year Knights Of was launched, a report by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education revealed that only 1% of kids books featured black, Asian, or minority characters. In England alone, 32% of children are children of color.
Felone has used the success of her bookstore to push inclusion in the publishing industry at large. By late 2019, the CLPE found that the number of books featuring black, Asian and other minority characters increased to 7%.
Aimée Felone joined me to outline her journey in business and how she’s changing the conversation in the U.K. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation.
Christabel Nsiah-Buadi: Why did you start Knights Of?
Aimée Felone: I’ve been in publishing for five years now. My journey into publishing took me six months of unpaid internships and then six months of paid internships. By the time I’d done a year of interning, I felt like, yeah, I really know how to be an intern.
I got into children’s publishing specifically because I was a massive reader as a kid — loved reading and loved that feeling of escape that you get when you’re a kid. I wanted to work in the places that created that feeling.
So I did the entry-level job, got the promotion, worked in the corporate office. I was the only person in editorial who wasn’t white and whilst the industry has a lot of conversations around diversity and inclusion, things move really slowly and I got really frustrated and quite despondent and then met my [Knights Of] co-founder, David Stevens, at the place that I used to work at. We both left independently and launched Knights Of to actually do something.
I think that’s the biggest thing — moving away from conversation and doing something that is establishing itself as permanent change. We’re still making kids’ books like the rest of the industry. We just have a particular focus on making sure that our teams are as diverse as possible. And by default, everything we publish is inclusive.
Nsiah-Buadi: What was the landscape of children’s book publishing that you found yourself in?
Felone: In the U.K., I think kids’ books [publishing] is an extremely white, female, homogeneous, middle-class, Oxford-educated space. And I think there’s a dissonance between those who are sometimes waving that diversity flag and when you look around and it’s like, “OK, so where are these ‘diverse’ people?” It doesn’t add up.
I think I have to realize what it means for me to be in the industry and what that means for even younger kids. I’ve had emails from kids, and a young black girl sticks out to me, just being like: “I saw you on the TV and I realized that I should be reading characters that look like me and I’ve realized that maybe I want to work in publishing.” I think it’s extremely powerful to be in a position where the change that you’re talking about is actually embodied in who you are, as well.
Nsiah-Buadi: What other ways have you seen your business change the landscape, aside from publishing?
Felone: So the [pop-up] bookshop came about because it was Knights Of’s first birthday and there was a report that came out that showed only 1% of kids’ books featured black, Asian and minority ethnic characters.
We started a hashtag on Twitter — #ReadtheOnePercent — so instead of taking what is a very negative [report] and “you can’t deny that’s awful” statistic, we tried to focus instead on the 1% [of books with minority characters] that do exist to celebrate them, and to amplify them. And hopefully people will say “OK, there is only 1% but I should actually be supporting this 1%.” And it got a lot of traction.
So we put all the books that qualify for the 1% into a physical space so that people would come along for five days and actually show the support they were showing online in a material way. And we sold more than 500 books in five days.
Then people kept asking us, “Why don’t you guys stay permanently? How can we support you?” And we were like, why don’t we try and run a crowdfunding campaign and see if we can raise at least £30,000?
As a company, as Knights Of, we were always trying to find that place where we can bring our conversation to a physical space. And whilst we never thought the bookshop would be that physical space, it’s what the people in the community demanded. So we kind of felt a responsibility to provide what they’ve demanded.
Nsiah-Buadi: Looking at the business side of things, how has your business grown?
Felone: We have six books out at the moment. The bookshop is already sustaining itself, but it’s already showing that there is demand for inclusive titles. So I know this, anecdotally, that we have caused a lot of the bigger houses to have to start to look at this [diversity in books] in a real way.
UK Black Writers Forum 