When you look at the books in your local bookstore, or see what is available in your children's library or classroom, what kinds of faces and experiences are there? Do the books we publish for children reflect the society that we live in — in all its diversity and range? And if they don't, how can this change? These and other questions were addressed at the recent Diversity Matters conference held on June 24th-25th,  and jointly organised by Arts Council England and the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE). Over 200 people gathered at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster in London, England to discuss diversity and the children's publishing industry. This included many people working in children's publishing (editorial, marketing, sales), and also school and public librarians, teachers, authors, illustrators, and people working for organisations concerned with the books available for children. There were also a few booksellers, who seemed to be one of the less well-represented groups attending. The full programme (available on the conference website) included a combination of keynote lectures, panel discussions, and smaller workshop sessions with a tight focus and the opportunity for group discussion. There was also an evening family event with poetry performances and workshops.

The conference focused on 'growing markets', and this theme was addressed in many ways throughout the two days. This included looking at all parts of the process of creating books for children, including those who write and illustrate the books; those who work within the children's publishers; how the books are distributed to bookstores, schools, and libraries; and how they get to the ultimate child reader.  

There were three main individual speakers who spoke on different issues. Shami Chakrabarti, Director of the human rights organisation Liberty, talked of the need for books to reflect the values and laws of British Society, and made the interesting proposal that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was a thinly veiled indictment of the war on terror. Author Malorie Blackman, the only black author to be found in the children's bestsellers list, spoke of her own experiences trying to get published (she received 82 rejection letters before publishing her first novel). She said that books are about communication — they should be accessible to all children: and including diverse characters enhances this. Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, closed the conference on Sunday with a stimulating talk that addressed how our sense of national identity is based in the stories and narratives we tell. He said it is important for Britain to find a narrative of Britishness that incorporates diversity, particularly in a time of such great change and global movement.

There were also three panels addressing different themes. The first drew on Arts Council-sponsored research which was published in the 'Books for All' supplement of the Bookseller Magazine (which is downloadable from the conference website). Key themes included having books available that reflect difference but are also just good stories (author, Catherine Johnson); that children want to see books with everyone included, not just one race or culture (librarian Louise Kanolik); that there is a clear marketing imperative to publishers to find books by and about people from a variety of cultural backgrounds since, by 2010, one in five school children will be from an ethnic minority background (Francesca Dow, Managing Director at Puffin Books); and that booksellers need to make bigger efforts to serve and reflect their communities (Suresh Ariaratnam, Bookseller journalist).

The second panel featured authors Mary Hoffman and Bali Rai, and illustrator Ken Wilson-Max. While each spoke about their own individual experiences, all were wary of overt tokenism or direction to include a quota of people from different backgrounds in books. Mary Hoffman noted that many things have changed since she started writing in the 1970s, but not enough. She thinks picture books still show a limited notion of what constitutes family, and doesn't reflect children's lived experiences. Zimbabwe-born illustrator Ken Wilson-Max said that, as an outsider, it's been an advantage to look at society in the UK with so many different people, to find more similarities rather than differences and reflect that in his books. Bali Rai spoke of the importance for him of doing school visits, for children to get to see someone who they can relate to who writes books, and realise that they could do it too. He also said that while many good books are being published, most teenagers don't have access to them as they are unavailable in many bookshops.

The third panel focused on publishers, with a range from independent to mid-sized to mainstream. Mishti Chatterji, Editorial Director of Mantra Lingua publishers, spoke of how language is at the core of culture, which led to their decision to publish bilingual books (starting with five languages in 1986, and grown to 40 today). She said books transmit powerful messages, and we need to get the message right. Janetta Otter Barry, Editorial Director at Frances Lincoln, addressed the great sales difficulties they have faced with some of their multicultural books (half of the 50 books they publish per year). She said that the US co-edition market has fallen dramatically over the past five years, which means they must rely much more on the UK for sales, and it's a big challenge. Annie Eaton, Fiction Publisher at Random House, said that Random House is keen to develop multicultural books, and that it makes good business sense. They've had success with authors like Bali Rai and Malorie Blackman, but these authors need to reach a bigger audience, and they need to have more diversity in the workforce of the publisher.

There was plenty of time for participation from the audience, including questions and comments for speakers and panellists, and group discussion built-in as part of the programme. Here are just a few key themes which came out from various conversations during the weekend.

Many said that multicultural books should not be targeted at a particular group (black books for black children, for example), but rather there is the importance for all children to read books that reflect our diverse world. Poet John Agard distilled it to the simple statement in the midst of reading from his Caribbean-infused poetry. He said he thinks of diversity in the following way: 'every culture has a story to tell'.

While many spoke of the great importance in having a more diverse workforce, some felt it was important to realise that people coming in at entry level are not in a position to lead major change. This must come from the top, led by groups such as the Bookseller Association. Organisations like the Diversity in Publishing Network can play a key role in focusing attention on the diversity of those working in publishing. Arts Council England-sponsored traineeships targeting talented young people from different backgrounds is also helping to create some change.

Several spoke of books that show diversity as showing us what we share, finding our similarities, rather than focusing on difference. But many also addressed the importance for children from all backgrounds to see themselves reflected in books, and especially books that do not focus on race or racism. Bali Rai said that he writes books that represent Britain for him — all kinds of people including, black, white, Asian, Jewish, and beyond. He wants it to get to the point where a book isn't about being black or Asian, but is just another book. There were also questions about defining 'diversity' in terms of this and future events, and whether it shouldn't be broadened beyond cultural diversity.

Attendees were able to participate at many points, speak to others from different areas, and see some of the good material that is already available. The conference was a combination of showcasing what we have, and thinking of ways to move forwards in terms of what books are available, and how to involve people from more backgrounds in the process of writing, illustrating, publishing and selling them.

The first of a series of events focusing on diversity in children's publishing, this conference offered a promising and provocative opening to an important conversation.

(Click here to view more detailed notes about the conference).

Laura Atkins
Member, Steering Committee
Diversity Matters

Posted July 2006