staff and authors, carried out and published its first staff census in 2021 as well as an author census, and in June 2021 welcomed its fourth cohort of publishing trainees from underrepresented backgrounds. An in-house talent acquisition team and a Diverse Future Leaders mentoring scheme have also been established, among a raſt of further activit. Likewise, Faber & Faber has developed an ongoing programme of all-staff training, its own recruitment platform relationships with partners such as Creative Access, a series of book clubs and an Independent Alliance Diversit & Inclusion Group, which meets on a regular basis. Chief executive officer Mary Cannam added: “We undertake an annual title and submissions audit, the results of which are shared with the Black Writers’ Guild and all staff, to measure the representation of writ- ers on the list and their access to it.”
New recruits
HarperCollins’ diversit, inclusion and belonging manager, Maheen Choonara, said one of its priorities is increasing ethnic diver- sit at all levels using blind recruitment, struc- tured interviews and balanced shortlists. It has launched a series of training programmes as well as the Author Academy, which has trained and supported almost 140 writers from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds and seen some begin to win book deals and literary awards. “Change will take time, but progress is being made and we will continue to champion racial equalit,” she said. This year the publisher produced its first ethnicit gap report, following Hachete and Penguin Random House (PRH). PRH highlighted the improvement in new hire representation in its latest diversit and inclu- sion report, as well as its ongoing work—in the shape of The Scheme, for new industry entrants, and Next Editors, for people from Black, Asian and minorit ethnic back- grounds—to develop the skills and expertise required to be a commissioning editor. On the agency side, Catherine Clarke, presi- dent of the Association of Authors’ Agents (AAA), noted a range of recently launched mentoring and internship schemes for those from underrepresented backgrounds, includ- ing the Felicit Bryan Mentorship Scheme and the Carole Blake Open Doors project, and collaborations such as RCW/Knights Of workshops for aspiring children’s authors. Curtis Brown Creative also launched The Breakthrough Writers’ Programme, offering courses, mentoring and scholarships for talented underrepresented writers. “Recognising there is still work to be done, and the need for an industry-wide
TheBookseller.com
At Jacaranda this is not a trend... we are not interested in hijacking real movements for social justice in the pursuit of appearing to be activists Valerie Brandes, Jacaranda Books founder
commitment to diversit and inclusion, the AAA will be spearheading an industry round- table forum, with the ambition to have princi- ples of commitment to share by the end of the year,” Clarke said. “The purpose of the new commitment is to demonstrate the industry’s shared values and principles and help further an inclusive and welcoming working environ- ment for all today and for the future.” As Curtis Brown agent Natalie Jerome
noted, “currently, publishing has no independent body to hold the industry to account, monitor or track its progress on issues of DEI”. It is only through data, such as CLPE’s 2018 report on representation in children’s publishing (which revealed that 1% of all kids’ books published in 2017 featured a minorit ethnic lead character), that gaps are highlighted to “help spark long-term and meaningful change”.
its employees, a spokesperson said: “We are very pleased by the ever-increasing diversit of successful authors, a reflection of the work of publishers and changing focus of readers.”
Long overdue
However, many are keen to emphasise that much DEI work started long before the Black Lives Mater protests of 2020. Kadija Sesay, publications manager for Inscribe/Peepal Tree and creator of AfriPoeTree, stressed decolonisation has become a bit of a buzzword but that numerous people in the industry have been looking at the issue for many years. “It just wasn’t called that,” she said. “It was independent publishers, especially Black independent publishers, and some of the reasons they were set up in the first place was to decolonise. They would always struggle to do that—and it is an ongoing struggle.” Dialogue Books publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove, the first Black person to lead an imprint in a corporate publishing house, agreed, emphasising that since its 2017 founding, her list has been built on inclusivit and diversit: “We know that there is a lot of work to be done, but Dialogue is commited to systematic change and not quick fixes.” Valerie Brandes, founder and c.e.o. of
This year, the five-year period set for the Publishers Assocation’s (PA) inclusivit action plan ends. It pledged in 2017, among other things, to undertake an annual internal work- force audit so that industry-wide statistics could be published; the development of an inclusivit policy; to ensure all staff involved with hiring atended unconscious bias train- ing; and to develop a mentoring scheme. Dan Conway, director of external affairs and incoming chief executive of the PA, said “things have moved on significantly” and that “we are currently working with members and partners on the next phase of this work.” In May 2021 the Booksellers Association established an Equalit, Diversit and Inclusion Action Group; initiatives have included a Guide to Creating an Inclusive Bookshop and a partnership with Bookshop. org on the New Futures Programme to select and foster new bookshops founded by entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities. Waterstones said it is working with Diversit in Retail to “establish metrics” to support its EDI strategy in the workplace. While it did not reveal data on the make-up of
Jacaranda Books, stressed “it will take longer than two years to see real, sustainable industry change”. She added: “Racial repre- sentation and inclusion cannot be fixed by mainstream publishers ataching to slogans or trends as a vehicle toward appearing to be aware, then, as those trends wane, reverting back to old business as usual. “This is reflected in the almost cyclical glut of reports that appear lamenting the problem of the lack of racial representation, diversit and inclusion. Atention wanes and oſten when Black excellence is present it can be used by mainstream publishers as a means to avoid doing more. At Jacaranda—proudly Black-owned and operated—this is not a trend: from the breadth of excellent Black writers we work with and publish to the way we have built our team, we are always present for any activism that supports representation and inclusion, but we are not interested in hijacking real movements for social justice in the pursuit of appearing to be activists. “The industry has some ways to go. The current crisis in the nature of work, and the high levels of dissatisfaction among publish- ing employees, will undoubtedly affect racial representation and inclusion negatively. As the focus turns towards broader issues, racial awareness and the essential nature of inclusion—especially during more challenging times—can oſten get lost or abandoned.”
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