Diverse Author Day

#diverseauthorday - September 24th

Diversity in publishing has been hitting the headlines recently with a new report commissioned by Spread the Word, Writing the Future: Black and Asian Authors and Publishers in the UK Market Place: 'A survey of publishers and literary agents indicates that of the respondents over 74 percent of those employed by large publishing houses, and an alarming 97 per cent of agents, believe that the industry is only "a little diverse" or "not diverse at all."'

This has created an ongoing conversation. You can see responses from the media here: The Guardian; Bookseller; Booktrade; The Publishers Association.

As well as Black and Asian authors there has also been a call for more diverse characters such as LGBTQ characters and disabled characters in literature.

Some of us hope to contribute to the conversation and celebrate with writers, authors and very important - readers, to join in and tweet about diverse characters in children's, YA and adult fiction novels from any period in publishing history.

The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. The books and characters we will be publicising will be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. 

These are just some of the writers and authors, with their Twitter names, who will be taking part in the #diverseauthorday on September 24th:

Rosie Canning @Rosie_Canning

Lindsay Bamfield @LindsayBamfield 
Naomi Frisby @Frizbot
Nikesh Shukla @nikeshshukla
Alex Wheatle @brixtonbard
Sunny Singh @sunnysingh_nw3 
Danuta Kean @danoosha
Miriam Halahmy @MiriamHalahmy
Joy Francis @wordsofcolour
Alan Wylie @wylie_alan
Irenosen Okojie @IrenosenOkojie
Savita Kalhan @savitakalhan
Ellie Daines @chirpywriter
Megan Winchester @BookAddictdGirl
Emma Hutson @Emma_S_Hutson
Susan Osborne @alifeinbooks

JOIN US and celebrate our differences.

We want to move beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each book.

Use the hashtag: #diverseauthorday