Rosie Canning, creative director at Greenacre Writers, and award winning author Alex Wheatle, are the people behind a new hashtag #diverseauthorday which will launch on Thursday 24 September 2015.
According to Canning, the issue of diversity in publishing has never really gone away, but has hit 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’.”
She adds that 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 readers, who we want 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.”
Below are just some of the writers and authors who will be taking part in the #diverseauthorday on 24 September 2015, including Joy Francis, executive director, Words of Colour:
Rosie Canning @Rosie_Canning
Lindsay Bamfield @LindsayBamfield
Naomi Frisby @Frizbot
Nikesh Shukla author @nikeshshukla
Sunny Singh @sunnysingh_nw3
Danuta Kean @danoosha
Brooke Winters @3Brooke33
Alan Wylie @wylie_alan
Irenosen Okojie @IrenosenOkojie
Savita Kalhan @savitakalhan
Ellie Daines @chirpywriter
Megan Winchester @BookAddictdGirl
Emma Hutson @Emma_S_Hutson
Susan Osborne @alifeinbooks
Words of Colour @wordsofcolour
Alex Wheatle @brixtonbard
Take part and don’t forget to use the hashtag #diverseauthorday