Diversity

My lifeline 

I am feeling intensely irritated this morning. Lionel Shriver has yet again been given a chance to spout forth about her views on diversity. Fine, let her have her views on it, but do you really need to devote a whole article to them when they are against everything that the whole world is fighting so hard to achieve? I am not going to link to the article in this piece because I am not going to add to the traffic. Basically, she has had a go at Penguin Random House for their diversity policies.

Now I will start off by stating that I fully support and congratulate PRH in their efforts. And secondly, I should point out that I am potentially one of the people she is having a go about. I am not published by PRH, but I am a diverse author in that I am disabled. I have never really shouted about the fact and I would hope that my novel stands on its own merit. I am pretty certain that Firefly took my manuscript on because of the story and not because I happen to be a diverse author. It is only as the information has gone out about me and my novel that people have said to me 'I had no idea you were disabled!' Yes, I am. I have a PEG tube fitted through which I am fed. I also have issues with one of my knees now that means I am on crutches. I am registered disabled.  I am also a single parent, a woman, an academic, a writer, an editor and I was a carer. The list could go on. None of these things defines who I am on their own, they are all just part of who I am.

Diversity is vital or rather, maybe a better word is inclusivity, as we want everyone to feel included. It is important on so many levels, and when I am talking about this I am referring to the definitions used by the amazing organisation Inclusive Minds. It is not just about the stories, which, of course, are important. There is a great drive to get diversity within publishing itself, with increasing job opportunities (HaperCollins BAME traineeship programme for example) as well as authors themselves. I am thrilled to be part of the Quarto Translation/Golden Egg Academy Diversity Award which we set up because we felt every child deserves an author and story they can relate to.

What I mean is thinking in terms of windows and mirrors. Diverse characters mean children have an opportunity to see characters just like them but also for others to walk a mile in another's shoes. It is a chance to create empathy - opportune in the week of #EmpathyDay on 12th June. 'A good book is an empathy engine' as said by Chris Riddell former Children's Laureate. It should never be a tickbox exercise nor should they be seen 'just as issue books'. Look around at your group of friends. I imagine they are an eclectic mix. When creating characters in books they should reflect that fact.

I feel better having got that off my chest. I would welcome the day when we do not need to speak of diversity but I fear that is a long way off and certainly when articles like Shriver are produced. It will not stop us fighting for it though.

I love Laura Mvula's work and this piece 'Phenomenal Woman' seems appropriate:

Stories for hope

A few years ago now but you can't escape the wonder

2016 has been a difficult year for many reasons when you look at the world and what has happened. Things we believed never possible happened and we roll into 2017 wondering 'what next?' This has meant that there are definitely feelings of fear and uncertainty being felt by many, including children. How do you explain to children world events?

It is at times like these when the importance of children's stories come to the fore. They give them somewhere to escape into. They give them a sense of hope. A sense of understanding. So many stories deal with the 'big issues', the universal truths in ways that they can understand. We talk about windows and mirrors when referring to diversity but it so  much more. I feel it is prism. The single white light of the reader opening the book as they first read it, only to be turned into a rainbow of knowledge as that white light is broadened/refracted as they read their way through. They may meet characters just like them or look into new worlds, seeing how characters live there. They get to experience all that knowledge that the author is bringing to their writing. They learn about that world and start to empathise with it. Adding depth to themselves without realising. Each story helps them face the world with a little less fear and a little more hope. Hope that it will be all right. We can make it better in the end. Good will win. Stories bring laughter, bring joy, bring tears, bring love, bring memories, bring the future.

This is why stories are so important and why we must keep writing stories, the best stories we can. Publishers need to keep publishing, to keep looking for new writers as well as their established ones. The world will keep turning, art and stories will keep showing the light and the way forward. We must never give up. However hard it gets. As Philip Pullman once said 'Thou shall not' is easily forgotten but 'Once upon a time' is remembered forever.  The 'Once upon a times' will be the answer. It will help the children and give them hope again. Keep writing and may 2017 be full of joy and laughter.

It is Winter's Solstice so this seems appropriate

Diversity - Windows and Mirrors

Windows and mirrors is what diversity in children's fiction should be all about. A chance for children to look at how other children lead their lives but also a chance for children to see themselves in stories.

Diversity covers so much: race, heritage, disability including mental health, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation (LGBQT+) and age to name but a few. And people may cover several groups, they are not exclusive. The important thing about diversity in children's books is not that we make these characters stand out as in the 'token diverse' character, which is an insult in my opinion, but that we are writing stories that celebrates our differences and our shared humanity. Where we are writing stories that are driven by great characters who just happen to be diverse but that is not the most important thing, it is unconscious. The story should be the most important thing.

Recently Beth Cox and Alexandra Strick of Inclusive Minds organised A Place at the Table where they invited publishers, booksellers, librarians and teachers to discuss the proposed first charter on diversity for the publishing world. It was highlighted how publishers were trying publish diverse books unselfconsiously, which is important but unfortunately booksellers were then marketing them consciously as issue books thus defeating the point. The idea being that children reading these books should see characters as being like them and a natural part of their life not as an issue that needs understanding. Diverse books are not issue books. The charter should be released shortly and will be based on the feedback from the event which is fantastic news.

Following on from the A Place at the Table we held a #geaqa on diversity which was frantic. One of the questions that came up was do you have a right to write from the point of view of a certain diverse character if you were not a member of particular diverse group. The general consensus was yes as long as you do a lot of in depth research. It was also suggested it was a good idea to find members of the group to act as your beta readers to check whether your character is credible or not. This sort of question is not new though, for many years it has been asked whether a woman can write as a man and vice versa for example. We all know whenever you write you need to be able to walk in your character's shoes. However, there is always the risk of falling into the trap of over emphasizing the stereotypes which is why it is important to do your research. Make your characters believable and someone that children can empathize with.

Don't forget to keep an eye out for the Golden Egg Academy Diversity Bursary for the Editor's Course which was launched at the Big Honk as we hope to continue to support diversity in publishing too.

This is the Piano Guys and What Makes You Beautiful because diversity is beautiful

Diversity, Inclusion & Equality Special Edition of Write4Children

Just a quick post as the latest edition of the open access e-journal Write4Children (www.write4children.org, click on Vol IV Issue II) went live this week. It is a special edition that has been guest edited by Beth Cox and Alexandra Strickland of Inclusive Minds (www.inclusiveminds.com).

It is a mammoth edition full of an eclectic mix of articles that deal with a diverse (appropriately) range of subjects. Well worth having a look at. Though by accident our timing seemed perfect considering Malorie Blackman, a great supporter of diversity, as has been previously mentioned was named as the Waterstone's Children's Laureate.

The articles, in the main, are about books already written and not about writing books. However, I think it is important as authors that we are aware of these issues too.

We are always looking for good articles on the creative aspects of writing for children. Send them to me at write4children@winchester.ac.uk

Seems appropriate considering some of the things I have seen this week: Tears for Fears 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World'. Takes me back...Happy Days