She says: “There is a huge fear of getting it wrong and causing offence, and it is easy for this to be off-putting and stop people trying. There are occasions when people have got it wrong and then come in for some criticism, and that puts people off even more.
“But the biggest thing I learned was to talk to people – not just do it myself. So we talked to charities, we went to visit schools that were inclusive and talked to disabled children.”
When the project ended, the idea lived on and the importance of lived experience became embedded in the work of Inclusive Minds, which began to take shape in 2010. Beth and Alex had remained in contact with the feeling that “we were actually at the start of something, not the end. There was a momentum that we didn’t want to lose.”
Lived experience The impetus came when Beth moved to a freelance position, allowing her to work with Alex on the idea that would become Inclusive Minds. It was clear that there was a desire for children’s publishing to become more representative through inclusion – both organisationally and with individuals working in the industry. However, there were also frustrations and pressures that meant progress was not as quick as many wanted. There was a realisation that blockages to diversity and representation can happen anywhere in the publishing chain, and Beth says: “We found that there wasn’t just a single point where things were getting held up and everyone has a part to play in changing that. There is a real message that each one of us can do something – if you leave it for someone else to do, then change is not going to happen.”
Inclusive Minds makes it easier for that change to happen. It has done a lot of the legwork in identifying those authentic voices – enabling publishers, writers and illustrators to make an approach to Inclusive Minds and know that there is an extensive network of people willing to share their lived experience on a range of issues. Their network of Inclusion Ambassadors, as they are known, brings first-hand experiences to the creators of children’s books. This type of access to authentic voices is hugely valuable for anyone who is serious about representation, diversity
10 PEN&INC.
and inclusion in children’s publishing. “We built the network of Inclusion Ambassadors, because we knew that we didn’t have all the answers,” says Beth. “The network is a way of sharing the experiences of people who do have personal experiences. We have around 100 young people on that now, and this is growing all the time, plus we have contacts in various fields of expertise. We are in a position that we can connect the industry to these people.”
Ambassadors range in age from eight to around 30 and they can liaise with authors on topics including disability, gender, race, and sexuality. As well as giving marginalised young people a voice, the network provides those young people with insight into and experience of the publishing industry. This should play a part in diversifying the workforce of the future.
Developing characters The aim is for Ambassadors to be involved at an early stage in the book publishing process. Ideally, an author would contact Inclusive Minds at the point when they are planning on including a diverse character. Making an early approach means authors can develop their characters having spoken to someone with lived experience, and should help them be confident that they are not making any obvious or damaging mistakes.
Beth says that there have been occasions when Inclusive Minds have been approached too late in the process, so when issues have been identified
Inclusion Ambassador Megan Quibell.
either there is no time to correct the errors, the diverse character is written out completely or they are changed so that they no longer represent diversity. That is beginning to change and Beth says she is optimistic that the industry realises that inclusion should be baked-in to children’s publishing.
She said: “Publishers are much more involved, and they want to make their work more inclusive. We are in a position now where we want the message to be about how early the consultancy process begins in the development of a book. It’s not about squeezing these things in at the last minute, or simply removing anything contentious. There is plenty of time early on in the schedule to talk to people about diversity and inclusion, ideally throughout, as well as for final checks to take place to ensure nothing has been missed.
“I feel really positive about it. You look at Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. That was published 20 years ago, but the books are massively inclusive. They have different family set-ups, they have travelling communites, gay characters. And the best thing about it is that it is a great story that just happens to be inclusive. One of the reasons it is successful is because it is inclusive and diverse. It shows that great stories can be inclusive, can be diverse, without taking anything away from the story.” Beth acknowledges that there has been a shift in perceptions in recent years and is determined that momentum is not lost. She says: “It feels like things are happening. We have to look at how we sustain that. By helping publishers to see that inclusion enhances a book and that it can actually take it to another level.
Inclusion Ambassador Jay Hulme.
“Inclusion can take a book to a bigger market, and publishing is a business at the end of the day, so there is the financial aspect as well as the moral importance.”
Autumn-Winter 2019
Inclusive Minds
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