Shining a light for representation
L
ANTANA will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year and as that landmark approaches I look back at what
has been achieved so far and what’s next for the publisher. As a former lecturer in children’s literature, I realised there was a lack of representation in the world of children’s publishing, so I decided to do something about it.
Social commitment
I founded Lantana when only one per cent of the children’s books published in the UK featured a character of colour as a protagonist. I wanted my biracial nephews and niece, and others like them, to be able to grow up seeing themselves in the books they read. Since 2014, we’ve been proud to work with authors and illustrators from under-represented groups and from around the world to tell inclusive stories that reflect the diversity of the world around us, with a particular focus on race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and disability and neurodivergence. I’m thrilled that Lantana has now grown into a celebrated independent publishing house with several accolades under our belt, a growing number of award-winning authors, and a small team who are passionate about inclusion and reflect the diversity of our list. We are rewarded every day by being part of the quiet revolution taking place in publishing
that has seen one per cent rise to nine per cent – an improvement, but by no means the end goal – and by continuing to push for more equal representation with every book we publish.
As a social enterprise, we care deeply about our social commitments, among them our policies around environmental sustainability. In 2021, we became a signatory to the United Nations SDG Publishers Compact, and we print our books on sustainably-sourced paper using plant-based inks. We’ve stopped using spot UV, foiling or other plastics on any of our new picture books – a commitment we’d like to see made by the rest of the industry as well. Any direct deliveries are made using 100 per cent recycled packaging, and our headquarters in West Berkshire are powered with energy produced from 100 per cent renewable sources.
Our authors and illustrators Most important to us, of course, are our authors and illustrators who are the backbone of our press and who have helped Lantana win some wonderfully loyal supporters in booksellers, teachers, librarians and parents throughout the country and across the world.
We have been lucky to work with some outstanding new and established voices. Highlights include debut illustrator Poonam Mistry being shortlisted for the former Kate Greenaway Medal, now Yoto
Alice Curry is Founder of Lantana publishing
www.lantanapublishing.com
Carnegie, for two years in a row for picture books You’re Safe With Me and You’re Snug With Me, written by Chitra Soundar; Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor winning the Children’s Africana Best Book Award for her picture book Chicken in the Kitchen, resulting in a book reading at the Library of Congress and a book launch at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington; Syrian author and illustrator Nadine Kaadan’s picture book Tomorrow, translated from Arabic, being selected as an inaugural book for Amnesty International’s children’s book club before she went on to win the Arab British Centre Award for Culture; and the late Jamaican poet James Berry’s A Story About Afiya, illustrated by Anna Cunha, being named one of the 25 Best Children’s Books of 2020 by the New York Times.
I can’t not mention the wonderful Spring-Summer 2023
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