Diversity In Publishing

Books and comics shape the culture of society. They inspire TV shows, films, stage shows, podcasts and more. They can influence our thinking and perspective. They can provide frameworks from which we gain a sharper understanding of ourselves and the world and reinforce and normalise our values and experiences. And yet, all too often our culture is shaped solely by people who come from a narrow section of society – one which we may not. 

This limits the perspective and range of culture. And when culture is restricted in this way, it only reinforces gatekeeping and hierarchy: Things that make marginalised people continue to feel ‘Other’ within culture, society and beyond. 

Why Does the World Need a Youth-Led Publisher?

The realities and lived experiences of young people often go unexplored or are misrepresented within our mainstream culture. Marginalised voices are continuously excluded from current creative print and online comics resulting in their stories not being told and shared. This needs to change.

Our ultimate goal is to help change the landscape of young people’s reading in the UK so that young people from diverse backgrounds can see themselves not only as characters in, but also as potential authors of, the books and comics they read. 

The Marginal Leadership programme seeks to give young people agency and in doing so, build their self-esteem and hopefully lead on to a career creating sequential art and writing, whilst inspiring them to become a positive reflection for subsequent creators. 

We are interested in mentoring stories that reflect current and real youth issues in the UK, and with increased cuts to arts funding it is vital that these voices are heard. All sectors of society deserve the opportunity to tell and share their stories. 

What is the Current State of Diversity in Publishing?

According to the results of the 2019 Diversity Baseline Survey (in which publishing houses and review journals were surveyed regarding the racial, gender, sexual orientation, and age of the publishing workforce), though small improvements have been implemented, there is still a great deal of work to be done in diversifying the creative and publishing landscape, as these pie charts show:

These statistics are critical for understanding the current publishing landscape. But it’s also important to know the context of the positive and negative issues and events that have taken place in the past five years to enact a greater drive for change. Such as:

2014: Milo Manara’s highly sexualised Spider-Woman cover, and the outpouring of defence for this depiction that followed.

2015: Pushback against Rafael Albuquerque’s cover artwork for a Batgirl comic depicting misogynistic violence against the character.

2015: The start of the Comicsgate online campaign, which stood in opposition of perceived ‘forced diversity’ and progressivism in regards to the creators hired for, characters depicted, and stories told within superhero comic books.

2015: Corinne Duyvis coins the #OwnVoices campaign to highlight books where the creator and the main character share some form of marginalisation. It builds momentum.

2016: Writer Chelsea Cain bullied off Twitter for her feminist take on Mockingbird.

2016: Beth Phelan creates #DVPit: A Twitter event to showcase pitches from marginalised voices which has since become a regular, trending event.

2017: The #MeToo movement goes viral following sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Allegations concerning similar acts of misconduct creep out of every creative industry and force a re-evaluation of boundaries, conduct, and power structures. 

2018: Four educators of colour found #DisruptTexts in the USA to question the books commonly being taught in high schools. 

Throughout this time period, many problematic publications have been challenged, cancelled, re-illustrated, or rewritten while The Hate U Give and other such diverse titles have become New York Times bestsellers. Authors of colour have also become more vocal regarding their place in the industry and their exhaustion with the constant dialogue surrounding diversity.