Did you attend BookExpo America last week? Did you notice that stepping into the Javits Center was like leaving New York City—trading an incredibly diverse city for an astonishingly white world of publishing professionals? We can do something about that. I just sent an email to the Conference/Education Programming team (you can find their email addresses here). Do you know anyone else who can help us make this happen? If so, please email me or leave a comment and/or reach out to them yourself. I met with Jill from Rhapsody in Books last week and we tried to think of ways to mobilize people around the issue of equity in publishing. Should we try to get a celebrity on board? Would Bill Cosby or Queen Latifah or Alicia Keyes lend their name to this cause? What about Spike and Tonya Lee, or Jada Pinkett Smith–black celebrities who have ventured into the world of publishing? Or could we dispense with celebrities and just try to get “major players” into a room and on the record? I’m open to ideas…
Greetings. My name is Zetta Elliott and I am an author/blogger/scholar. I would like to propose a session for BEA 2012 that would address the issue of equity in publishing. BookExpo is a wonderful event, yet one can’t help but notice the shocking lack of diversity at the nation’s largest publishing convention (held in the nation’s most diverse city).
At the London Book Fair, DIPNET (the Diversity in Publishing Network) holds an annual meeting to discuss their proposed UK Publishing Equalities Charter; I think BEA could benefit from holding a similar session in order to give publishers, booksellers, book buyers, and other members of the literary community an opportunity to strategize and share ideas around improving equity in the US publishing industry. Representatives from the AAP, ABA, and AAR could join authors, educators, and librarians to set concrete goals that would ensure that the 21st-century publishing industry accurately reflects this nation of readers and writers.
I will be presenting a paper at the Race, Ethnicity, and Publishing conference at the Université de Provence in March 2012; I would like to report to attendees that the US is taking steps to address the appalling inequity in its publishing industry. I regularly blog about this issue and would be happy to collaborate with you, should you need any help coordinating and/or advertising a session for BEA 2012.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Zetta Elliott
Excellent piece, Zetta. It seems that if we return back to Nancy Larrick’s article “The All White World of Children’s Literature” you would notice a lot has not changed. But if you haven’t notice, most of the professional organizations that represent children’s literature have that same look you witnessed last week. I would like to suggest you include some authors of color that have reputations in the publishing field, scholars that truly truly support diversity in children’s literature and perhaps organizations such as MELUS, IRA, and specific organizations that celebrate cultural literature.
I’d suggest trying to connect up with Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon. Since they’ve been staging the Diversity in YA tour this year they have a lot of engaged author contacts, some who might already be involved with BEA.
Hey, ladies–thanks for the suggestions. I want to include any and everyone who’s willing to ROCK THE BOAT–as you said, Nancy, we need folks who are “truly truly” committed to *equity*, not just diversity. I have to say, I don’t generally think of scholars tackling problems of equity in the industry–in the classroom, yes, and maybe in the library. But few people seem willing to go to the source, which is the industry itself. We need gatekeepers there who won’t be afraid to get called out and who will commit to taking concrete steps to restructure the industry. Sounds pie in the sky, right? I think about the ALA and CBC, I look at their track record when it comes to pushing for equity, and I don’t feel particularly optimistic. The CCBC should definitely be there…but you’re right, Nancy. Too many kidlit folks are satisfied with the status quo. And it’s hard to find established authors who are willing to critique a system that works for them…
I think rather than trying to change from within (perhaps? artificially) it might be better to change from without by encouraging other groups to embrace (even be aware of) publishing, reading, books in general as a career option (even at the expense of high pay).
Hi, Nelizadrew. It’s true that any effort to integrate the industry might be seen as disingenuous on the part of the publishers. But I think about the US Civil Rights Movement and the many times that blacks were asked, “Why do you want to enter a school/waiting room/diner/neighborhood where you’re not wanted?” You can’t legislate what’s in people’s hearts. If there had been a referendum on interracial marriage or even the Voting Rights Act, most Americans might have denied blacks their basic civil rights, as is happening today with gay marriage. Sometimes you just need a few brave people to stand up and say, “This is how things will be from now BECAUSE IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.” I’m for separate organizations and institutions, and we’ve got those now–multicultural presses like Lee & Low and Just Us Books. But small presses can’t do the job on their own, and don’t we want our kids to see us defending social justice? That’s what this issue is to me–a matter of principle…
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What an excellent idea – I hope that something can definitely be done and that the session idea at the very least is implemented. I would definitely attend. I know very little about publishing (odd for a book blogger I suppose but I only really know about reading!) and am based in Canada, but could definitely help out as needed.
Hey, Amy–it’s nice to hear from a fellow Canadian! if you ever do attend BEA, know that registering for the one-day Book Blogger Convention grants you full access to BEA. I’ve got an essay coming out on racism in the Canadian publishing industry–which is worse, believe it or not! So stay tuned. We’re trying to organize a conference on multicultural children’s literature at York University in 2012.
I’m late to comment here, and of course you know I am on board. Tapping into the people who are already on-side, like Andrea Davis-Pinkney, the publishers you mentioned above. But perhaps trying to get some heads or MDs of major publishers to come and support something like this. I’d go straight to the top, if only to try to get key people to focus on this issue for a short period. I know that Pearson/Penguin (etc.) in the UK have a head of diversity who is dedicated to this area. It could be good to ask the current head of DIPNet if there’s anyone from the UK he could suggestion, who he thinks is doing some best practice that could be show-cased. Yes, the CCBC is strong on this issue. But you do want some crucial publishing-related organisation to take a lead as well. I just don’t know who that would be.
However it happens, I would love to be there for this event if you can make it happen. So keep us posted!
Hey, Laura! I just wrote a short piece for the DIPNET blog–citing you, of course. I didn’t ask Bobby about contacts in the UK, but that’s a great idea. I don’t see why the UK head of Little, Brown would sign on but not the US counterpart. It’s a different model here, and there isn’t an Equity Act to use as the basis for change, but I still have hope…I’m trying to get PEN America involved, too, since this is a social justice issue. And what’s the law regarding affirmative action? don’t these publishing companies have a legal obligation to diversify?
Fifteen years ago (maybe more) I went to my first-ever children’s lit conference. It was at CCBC. I was thrilled to meet KT and Ginny.
Like your observations of BookExpo, I looked around a very full room and saw an audience almost exclusively comprised of white women.
A friend who is an author said she thinks we need to be inside the publishing houses, at the table where meetings happen… where manuscripts are argued for or against. It would be a lonely seat and require someone with a strong backbone and thick skin. But it seems that is where we need to effect change. At that table, we could say WTF about x y and z. And we could advocate for writers who are Native, African American, Latino/a, Asian American…
I think you’re right, Debbie, but how do we ensure that those members of marginalized groups aren’t further alienated or co-opted by the dominant group? Frankly, there are some editors in positions of power right now–do we know they’re making a difference? I feel like what might end up happening is that big publishers might offer us a separate imprint–and if we wound up working “on our own” within the mainstream, is that real progress? Right now, I’d take it if it was offered, but you’re right–just adding a few diverse faces to the mix isn’t enough; we need folks who will rock the boat and say WTF without fear of being silenced (or fired)…
[...] to these thoughts is the post by Zetta Elliott on the lack of racial diversity in publishing and at Book Expo America in part…. Jill of Rhapsody in Books also posted about the topic yesterday. from → Ramblings ← [...]
[...] of people (both working the booths and attending) at Book Expo America. This was brought up in a post by Zetta Elliott. Jill of Rhapsody in Books also posted about the topic and I mentioned it briefly previously as [...]
[...] Whether you think the responsibility lies with authors and editors, with readers, or with both, as we’ve seen, the industry isn’t necessarily very diverse, which brings me to a topic [...]
[...] on various issues related to diversity and publishing. Started partially in response to a post by Zetta Elliott on the lack of racial diversity in publishing and at Book Expo America in part… and a post by Jill of Rhapsody in Books on the same topic. I started with a discussion about [...]