Thread by @candygourlay

1/ Yesterday I ws pleased to join kidlit advocates at #NationofReaders hosted by @CILIPinfo. Everyone ws already doing a LOT 4 diversity&reading @Booktrust @imaginecentre @_KnightsOf @clpe1 @ILoveCopyright @thisisbooklove @readingagency @nickpoole1 & MORE Photo:@TinyOwl_Books

2/ Why get all these good ppl together? Surveys fr @Booktrust & @clpe1 reveal: Only 1% of #UKKidLit in 2017 had a BAME character bit.ly/2GZEdDY; less thn 2% of UKauthors are POC bit.ly/2IXNGzd Unsurprising but still shocking

#NationofReaders

@CILIPinfo

3/ #NationofReaders was a kind of State of the Nation look at where we are now in #UKKidLit. We heard fr agent @nocturnalreader, publisher @aimeefelone, distributor @Petersbooks, @Nielsen,@sarahmears10 on empathy, @NewhamBookshop & author @sufiyaahmed Photo: @EmilyDrabs

4/ As we discussed the issues at hand, I couldn't help thinking that everyone in the room already knew what the problem was. The @CLPE @Booktrust findings simply put numbers to what we already knew. We'd heard this ALL before, even 10-20 yrs ago #NationofReaders Photo:@NickPoole1

5/ Are we caught in some kind of cycle of self-examination, regret & response? Are we taking action briefly only for our efforts to fizzle before the demands of commerce, by a lack of leadership, by the waning of urgency?#NationofReaders
@clpe1 @CILIPinfo @Booktrust

6/ SURELY #DIVERSITY SHD BE A GIVEN, says @nocturnalreader citing dearth not just of POC but characters from working class & regional bckgrnds. "We need to think LONG TERM: make 'diversity' a thing of the past – make it the norm in publishing." #NationofReaders Photo: @EmilyDrabs

7/ I agree. #KidLitUK right now is #ReflectingRealities – but it is reflecting a reality of exclusion. Our children's books are reflecting the social/racial inequality of our society by its continuing mono-cultural narrative.
#NationofReaders @CILIPinfo @clpe1 @Booktrust

8/ Yes, #ReflectingRealities at its heart is about GOOD WRITING, but the system has been skewed forever and it will take real grit on the part of publishers & kidlit ppl to make change happen. #NationofReaders
@clpe1 @CILIPinfo @Booktrust

9/ There are currently several attempts to fast-track and mentor POC authors. This will demand great generosity from the authorsphere – not easy when getting published can be a gruelling and unloving journey.
#NationofReaders @CILIPinfo @clpe1 @Booktrust

10/ Publishers need to effect change for the right reasons. Box ticking is unsustainable. They need not just to open their doors to diversity, but to walk through those doors themselves, explore outside their comfort zones, meet ppl unlike themselves and LISTEN. #NationofReaders

11/ At #NationofReaders there was a call to pool the influence of the gathered organisations to make an impact on #ReflectingRealities. Bravo to #BooktrustRepresents's bit.ly/2UWTjiF Think of what we can all do if we work together!
@Booktrust @CILIPinfo @clpe1

12/ Sometimes though efforts backlash. Eg.
• Mentoring – helps discover talent, but gives impression that POC not talented enough.
• LGBT/BAME library displays can 'other' LGBT/BAME people.
• Unrealistic expectations.
#NationofReaders
@CILIPinfo @clpe1 @Booktrust

13/ Finally, questions for #NationofReaders:
How do we make diversity normal?
How do we venture outside our social/racial bubbles?
How do we help our communities imagine/accept change?
Who is change leaving behind? How do we help them?

Thanks to @CILIPinfo @clpe1 for having me!