THIS WEEK
Feature British publishers’ catalogues
Catalogues show patchy representation rise
Five years on from its last analysis into the make-up of UK publishers’ output, new data from The Bookseller shows improvements have been made, but with a number of significant caveats
Heather Marks @iamheathermarks B
ack in 2016, when The Bookseller examined the lists of the UK’s most prolific publishing houses, there were fewer than 100 books published by authors of colour. Five years on, there are over 200 books published this spring alone by British writers of colour, and 400-plus when including writ- ers of colour from around the globe. Out of a total of 4,017 authors and illustra-
tors featured across 33 catalogues from the UK’s “Big Five” and selected independent presses, 2.5% were Black British, when compared to the overall output. The figure rose to slightly more than 3%, however, when compared just against British writers. The statistics show that while progress has been made in some areas, in other respects repre- sentation remains patchy, with some divisions of the bigger publishers showcasing no Black British writers in their catalogues. The Bookseller’s research was conducted using publisher catalogues and information in the public domain—biographies, interviews, social media. Spring 2021 catalogues of the UK’s “Big Five” (Bloomsbury, Hachete, HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan and Penguin Random House) were analysed, as were three of the top independent publishers (Canongate, Faber, Profile). A small number of authors whose ethnicit could not be identi- fied were not included in the study. Black British people comprise 3% of the population of England and Wales. The publishers with the highest visibilit of Black British authors on their catalogues this spring were Canongate (6.8%) and Faber (5%). This was followed by Hachete, HarperCollins and PRH, at 3%. Bloomsbury, Pan Macmillan and Profile were all below 2%.
Analysing the publishers’ catalogues by
division, the data showed that some houses were relying on certain imprints to do the heavy liſting. For example, 5.3% of the authors showcased by Hodder & Stoughton, a division of Hachete, were Black British, compared to 1.7% for both John Murray and Quercus. At PRH, 15.5% and 6.7% of the authors featured by Penguin General and
28 9th April 2021
Cornerstone respectively were Black British, compared to none from its more commercial divisions Michael Joseph and Transworld. In response, PRH pointed to forthcoming and recently published titles from these divisions, albeit not included in their catalogues, such as More than a Mum by Charlene Allcot and The Book of Echoes by Rosanna Amaka (both Transworld), and Michael Joseph’s One Pot Vegan by Roxy Pope and Ben Pook. Similarly, The Bookseller found William Collins to have no Black British authors in its spring catalogue, despite sister divisional imprint Fourth Estate having a much higher ratio. In response, HarperCollins said it was publishing US writers Anna Malaika Tubbs, Patricia Williams and Elizabeth Hinton during the season. HC also pointed to the forthcom- ing publication of British author Malik al Nasir, as well as recent acquisitions of a visual poem of Black Britain by Roger Robinson and Johny Pits, and a two-book deal with author Aminata Forna.
33 2.5% 101
A spokesperson said: “HarperCollins is commited to broadening its content and the diversit of its author base. Our publishing divisions have each put in place diversit and inclusion strate- gies aimed at driving representation in their content. Our talent and audi- ence development manager also works with the divisions to identify and acquire new writing talent. There is more to do, but we have already seen increased diversit in our publishing across many of our lists, and we continue to strive to further increase representation.” The data may add
Catalogues from UK publishers were analysed
Of the authors whose books were present in the catalogues are Black British writers
Black British writers feature in the catalogues analysed; there were 102 Black US authors
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