On Tuesday, Penguin Random House released their social impact report, their “global commitment to serving our communities beyond the books we publish,” which shares programming highlights and data between January 1, 2021 – July 1, 2022. The initiative has three pillars: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Environment & Sustainability, and Free Expression & Joy of Reading. As part of their DEI goals, PRH U.S. updated its workforce demographics to reflect the staff as of October 2021. Among non-warehouse staff, 73 percent identify as women, 26 percent as men, and 0.5 percent as nonbinary. White staffers make up 74 percent of the […]
Diversity
“What’s Next?”: Avid Reader Press Diversity Committee Panel
Wednesday evening, the Avid Reader Press Diversity Committee hosted a panel for junior employees and people hoping to break into the industry. The committee was founded in 2020 in the wake of the George Floyd protests, “to better understand and reckon with the lack of diversity and equity in publishing.” Avid Reader assistant editor Amy Guay moderated the panel, which was made up of professionals who have been in the business a while, and could speak to what has helped them grow and made them stay. Alia Almeida (telesales representative at HarperCollins), Shida Carr (deputy director of publicity at Atria), […]
Disability in Publishing Launches With Virtual Event
Disability in Publishing, an organization founded by and for disabled publishing professionals that began on Twitter late last year, will officially launch with an event this month. The organization’s mission is “to create community, provide resources, and increase accessibility across the industry in order to increase disability visibility and retain the talent of disabled publishing professionals. We will support each other through advocacy, education, networking, and community,” their website says. In a virtual town hall on July 22, Disability in Publishing will discuss its goals and mission, introduce its founding members, and field questions.
NYT Magazine on the Past, Present, and Future of Diversity in Publishing
The New York Times magazine posted a comprehensive piece on the past, present, and future of diversity in publishing—hiring staff, acquiring books, and cultivating audiences who aren’t white. For “Inside the Push to Diversify the Book Business,” Times magazine writer Marcela Valdes interviewed more than 50 current and former publishing professionals, as well as authors, “about the previous unsuccessful attempts to cultivate Black audiences and about an industry culture that still struggles to overcome the clubby, white elitism it was born in.” She also pulls from her own experience in publishing and as a critic and editor. When she joined […]
WNDB and HBG Launch Program to Support Mid-Career Professionals
We Need Diverse Books has partnered with Hachette Book Group and Beacon Press to launch Rise Up: Retention Program for Diverse Mid-Level Publishing Professionals, inspired by Lee & Low’s 2019 Diversity Baseline Survey. “The survey’s data highlights the importance of retaining diverse mid-level publishing professionals since many leave the industry within three to six years, due to barriers like toxic workplace environments, lack of room for career growth, and unsustainable pay,” WNDB said in a release. Sponsored by HBG and Beacon Press and geared toward both adult and children’s staffers, Rise Up builds on the WNDB Internship Grant Program, which was […]
AAP Expands Sustainability and DEI Work
The Association of American Publishers announced it is expanding its work into climate and sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in public policy, as voted on by its board of directors. AAP president and ceo Maria A. Pallante said, “By focusing AAP on diversity and sustainability challenges, the board is not only acknowledging the potential impact of change management within its own ranks, but also acknowledging its responsibility to future generations of publishers, authors, readers, and leaders.” AAP board chair Brian Napack, Wiley president and ceo, led the initiatives, creating working groups with representatives from across the industry “to […]