Marginal Inclusion Pledge 2020-2023

Print media shapes the very essence of culture and society. They inspire TV shows, films, theatre, podcasts, the music we listen to and so much more. Yet too often culture is shaped by the people who come from a narrow section of society. This needs to change. Now. In establishing the Marginal Publishing House, we have worked hard to create a more inclusive and representative publishing body, focused on the voices of marginalised youth. We have found new ways to break down barriers, both for our marvellous creators and for future publishers-but we have so much more to do.

Our inclusion mission is simple:

‘To champion non-tokenistic youth diversity in all areas of our publishing house and publications in order to more truly reflect the world in which we live and empower everyone-regardless of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, age, class, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, physical and mental ability’.

Our inclusion Pledges

  • Our staff and the comics and books we publish will reflect UK society.

    We believe making books and publishing more inclusive is both a cultural and commercial imperative. The publishing industry does not reflect the society in which we live. Our very existence seeks to make radical change regarding this.

    In opposition to industry standard, we are removing the need for a university degree from all or jobs, will introduce paid work experience where possible, paid commissioning opportunities for youth voice and nurture aspiring creators through our Marginal Development Programme.

    To truly understand the impact of our actions, we track the diversity of our creators and colleagues to ascertain that they are representative of the UK population, taking into account ethnicity, gender, sexuality, social mobility and disability.

    We will publish data reflective our statistics against the most recent UK census. 

  • Diversity in published creations

    We understand ‘inclusive books’ to mean rad mainstream stories, not isolated as a separate genre or segregated strand of literature. We seek to fully normalise everyday diversity. All new titles will be authentically inclusive as per their setting, genre, tone and cast of characters. We will further seek the advice of lived experienced youth leaders to ensure that characters are authentic. However, we also recognise that every young person’s lived experiences are different, and as such much also be taken into consideration. 

  • Reader representation

    We are committed to playing a part in ensuring that all readers can find authentic youth representations of themselves in books, as well as seeing representations of individuals who are different from them. We will ensure that all publications, events, and mentoring opportunities are accessible to the widest audience possible. Any panel talks or workshops will not be confined to Universities or classrooms in affluent areas-although we do recognise the importance for dialogue between business and institutions. We will further strive to take on board all reader feedback regarding characterisation and will not discard any comments that do not align with our ethos. Furthermore, our creators covers will avoid atypical tropes, in turn, fully representing their characters in a truthful and authentic way. 

  • Our community

    We commit to providing a safe space where young people both feel both comfortable and welcome to develop their creative avenues of interest, be it through publication, development support or requesting a volunteer position. We will seek to extend outreach and visibility to specifically diverse groups and spaces, whose members may not be (currently) proportionally represented in industry, or wo may not be members of such spaces that were previously marketed to. Our Marginal HQ will foster an internal community where discussions around these topics are not shied away from, but can be aired with empathy, curiosity and muchos belly laughs, for the benefit of all-without any individual being expected to put in all of the emotional work to educate others. When we are in a position to hire employees, we will pat at least the UK Living Wage. 

  • We will champion freedom of expression through our youth led editorial voice

    Freedom of expression is fundamental for our publishing house, ensuring we can publish diverse voices and wide-ranging opinions through the power of youth voice. Our Publishing House is truly let by young people, for young people, with the freedom and editorial independence to choose the comic and books they want to publish and how they want to publish them.

    We are a member of English PEN, the founder of a global network which defends and promotes freedom of expression. 

  • Diversity in business practice

    As a publishing house, we understand the wide-ranging nature of the term ‘diversity’ to encompass (but not limited to) race and heritage, disability, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, religion, and culture. We will engage with industry colleagues to reinforce the importance of non-tokenistic diversity in all its forms, and challenge the status quo where applicable. There will be absolute, non-negotiable transparency when it comes to the steps we are prioritising youth voice and sharing learning.

    We recognise that the above steps are not perfect solutions, by any means! However, they are an important start in order to gain tangible results. Our pledge will be considered and revised on an ongoing basis as we improve both as individuals and as a publishing house.

    We promise to never, EVER expect pats on the back for taking such steps. Let’s face it, in a perfect world this would come as standard. Let’s strive to DO better.

    Case study:

    Marginal Development Programme aims to find, mentor, coach and publish young talented writers and creators from communities under-represented on the nation’s bookshelves. As a youth led publisher, we prioritise supporting creators aged 8-25 from BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic), LGBTQ communities, creators with disabilities and socio-economically marginalised creators. The Marginal Development Programme offers young people the opportunity to receive 1-2-1 targeted support, group workshops and mentoring opportunities to make their creative dreams a reality. Young people are supported to join our year-long mentoring programme, wherein we work with them to develop their manuscript. Launched in 2019, we are currently mentoring 18 young people, with a publication schedule to follow shortly.