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 […]
Diversity
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 […]
PRH Releases Author Diversity Audit
Penguin Random House released their “phase one” U.S. publishing programs audit, which investigated the identities of contributors — authors, illustrators, and translators — of titles published between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2021. Contributors were asked to self-identify, and 3,415 people participated. Initial conclusions were clear: “Our Contributor demographics do not reflect U.S. reader demographics when it comes to race and ethnicity. Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous representation is low, while white representation is overindexed. Significant growth in the underrepresented contributor populations is required to accurately reflect U.S. demographics.” The company noted, “The data also show a correlation between workforce […]
Publishing Rethinks Its Use of “#OwnVoices”
In June, nonprofit children’s book organization We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) announced that it would stop using the term #OwnVoices, in favor of authors’ specific descriptions of themselves and their characters. WNDB said that use of the term has forced authors to self-identify in ways that are uncomfortable or dangerous; some diverse identities, such as disability or LGBTQ identities, aren’t self-evident. The hashtag has also become a way to police marginalized writers, “questioning authors who do have lived experience about whether they ‘count’ as ‘diverse enough’ to write about that specific community (for example, in making multiracial or bi+/pansexual authors […]
Initiatives: B&T Adds Diversity Tool
Baker & Taylor will release a Diversity Analysis tool to help libraries “discover, manage, and report on diversity-related topics.” According to the release, the tool will allow libraries to analyze physical and digital collections and identify gaps. EVP and general manager of Baker & Taylor Amandeep Kochar said, “Creating and managing a collection that encompasses the wealth of human experiences can be complex and time consuming, which was our inspiration behind creating Diversity Analysis.” The service will be available this month for B&T customers. In May, Ingram Library Services launched a similar assessment service to help public libraries “diversify their […]