Diversity in Children’s Publishing: Pushing for Change

From staffing to acquisition to marketing, children’s book publishers examine their own diversity deficits

Two recent virtual events focused on the need for change in children’s publishing—specifically the need for Black and diverse voices—although one of these events was intended to be a discussion of new children’s imprints, not a racism or equity discussion.

The new imprints panel was part of School Library Journal’s annual Day of Dialog, typically a librarian-only gathering that focuses on “the best and the brightest” in the world of children’s and YA literature. The panel featured:

• Andrew Arnold of HarperAlley: a collaborative, creator-focused publisher of graphic novels for kids and teens that connects with readers of all ages
• Simon Boughton of Norton Young Readers: the first children’s publishing effort from Norton, which publishes across all categories and age groups
• Gina Gagliano of Random House Graphic: an imprint devoted to graphic novels, for ages four up through college, in fiction and nonfiction
• Arthur Levine of Levine Querido: a publisher that focuses on building a platform for previously underrepresented voices and also has a partnership with a Dutch publisher to find the most outstanding authors and artists from around the world
• Eileen Robinson of Reycraft Books: a publisher that focuses on underrepresented authors and illustrators, spanning all categories and age groups

All panelists briefly discussed their editorial philosophies, and at events like this, such comments from editors rarely stand out. Just about everyone seeks to acquire great talent, and most will say they want a “diversity” of books or that they intend to publish books for “all readers.” However, Levine—who we’ve noticed can be direct and outspoken, and was so during this panel—said of his new effort, Levine Querido, “There is great work being published especially by my fellow panelists, but personally I wanted to experience a paradigm shift.” For him, this shift means “equitable inclusion, truly original talent, the jewel of a book without an easy comp, a sense of connection to the world literary community.” He continued, “I want these things to replace the commonplace decision by committee, the finance department domination, indifference to social value, and other things that sometimes corporate systems can encourage.”

The panel’s moderator, Mahnaz Dar of School Library Journal, brought up the well-known Lee & Low diversity survey, which shows that the book-publishing industry is just as white as it was several years ago. She asked the panelists, “You are poised to help change our landscape … but moving toward anti-racism and equity is an ongoing process. What steps do you want to take to move toward a more equitable industry?”

Levine responded that his operation has a majority minority staff and that it’s his intention to keep it that way. Even now, during COVID, he says Levine Querido has increased their number of interns, and all of them are women of color. “I hope that by training and encouraging young talented people in this way, while mentoring and supporting a diverse talented staff, that LQ can do its part to help perhaps in a small way—in terms of objective quantity because we are a small shop—and in a large way as an ally and as a model.”

After two other editors responded to the question, mainly pointing to their acquisition of authors and illustrators of color (rather than staff of color), Levine jumped in and asked the uncomfortable question of whether they were really answering the question that was posed. It was an important moment, revealing the stages the industry has moved through. For a time, publishers have focused on publishing more books about people of color, but those books have too often come from white authors—by a factor two to one, according to a 2018 study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Then there has been learning and acknowledgment that books about marginalized communities should come from people in those communities—the focus of the #ownvoices movement. And now the industry must come to terms with its internal composition: the people doing the editing, selling, and marketing are not a diverse group.

Boughton said the answer is, in part, better recruitment. But he then added, “The challenge for me is learning to listen. It’s a very fast-paced industry, you gain a lot of experience quickly, you have to do a lot quickly. The challenge I have is stepping back and listening to other people’s voices.” He says the industry tends to be “kind of patrician,” which hampers progress, as people don’t always learn to stop, pause, and listen. “This is a long process. It takes time. It takes a shifting culture. It takes proactive efforts to recruit and educate people in places that we haven’t done traditionally.”

Robinson said, “I’m glad that we have more writers of color being recognized, and that’s a big start into having inclusivity. The problem I’ve found is … you go to a [publishing] conference and when you walk up to a booth, most of the time there’s no one of color to talk to about those books or representing any of those books, and that is an issue.”

On Monday, the Authors Guild hosted a panel on Black voices in children’s publishing that included Black authors, agents, marketers, and publishers—some of whom have been working in the industry for 30 years and have a deep understanding of the institutional barriers faced by Black authors.

The panel grappled mainly with publishers’ lack of knowledge and care in marketing and publicizing Black authors. Because of the lack of marketing support from publishers and the lack of knowledge of how to market to the Black community, several panelists said that books by Black authors can go out of print quicker or otherwise sell poorly, creating a vicious cycle where publishers make claims that such books don’t sell or that Black people don’t buy books. Black books are also far less likely to be made part of the canon in schools and libraries. Author Kelly Starling Lyons said there’s industry fear of a Black face on book covers, that such a book will be perceived as only for Black children instead of being for everyone. “We want to push back against that notion that our books are not universal,” she said.

Jalissa Corrie—currently marketing manager for Lee & Low Books—said that she hears all the time from publishers, “We already have our Black book.” Not only is that unacceptable, she said, but it’s said as if there’s room for only one, an attitude derived partly from the racist belief that Black people don’t read. Author Christopher Myers expressed frustration that Black people are still having to prove that they exist and buy books, a problem that dates back to the 1960s, as some panelists pointed out. “Our rhetoric has stayed in some of that 1965 language,” he said. “Being stuck in that conversation robs us of the opportunity to talk about the natural next steps. What if we accept that we exist? … What are the kinds of books that are going to serve that vast readership that we already know exists? … If we all agree about this clear problem [that we need more books for Black children], where is the villain?”

Major publishers don’t often know or understand the vastness of Black media and marketing opportunities to reach Black readers. Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, who has been marketing and publicizing Black-authored books for more than 30 years, says that these outlets aren’t always obvious and there isn’t a handy Rolodex of information. However, she pointed to radio as one of the strongest mediums for reaching Black readers.

Author Wade Hudson, the founder, along with his wife, Cheryl, of Just Us Books, said they built their publishing company on the understanding of how to reach the Black community. “We did not depend solely on traditional marketing. We did a lot of festivals that are held around the country. We connected with the religious organizations. There’s a huge infrastructure that’s in place.”

On the traditional marketing end, the Hudsons both spoke to a significant problem area: who’s making the decisions about what books get shelved in stores and chains? Cheryl Hudson says that Black History Month can easily become a kind of silo and a barrier to expanding the market. “Black authors are creating 365 days a year,” she said, and their books shouldn’t all be channeled into one month. Wade Hudson said the retailers’ decisions are an institutional barrier to equity. “Oftentimes, the people who are making those decisions are not really aware—or don’t care—about the opportunities that may be there to grow the market.” But he also said you have to look at the publishers’ sales teams, which may have a slate of 30 to 40 books they have to pitch to that retailer all at once, and not all of those titles are getting the same kind of enthusiastic pitch.

Eventually, the conversation circled back to the fundamental need for more Black people in every part of the business. Myers said, “When you look at a P&L of what is possibly going to sell, there is gambling at the center of it. As with most gambling, it comes down to gut feelings that people have. How many more guts can we get into that room?” However, having a diverse staff is just the first step. “Publishing is made up of a lot of we—and it can be very hard as a young [person] to challenge that we,” Myers said, referencing how most Black people in publishing right now are at the entry level. He said publishers need to not only hire a more diverse staff, but do the work to retain such staff, and that means doing a better job of listening.

Bottom line: At one point during the conversation, Myers made the point that Black authors won’t be equal until they can be as mediocre as white authors. If a Black-authored book doesn’t sell like it should have, or doesn’t earn out, does that author get another chance? Lyons echoed that point: “There are a lot of programs that are being created to nurture new voices in the field, but what is being done to nurture and support those who are already in the industry … [when] later they can’t find a book deal?” Corrie said that currently Black authors have to work 10 times as hard to get half as much, and that if a book by a white author doesn’t work out, publishers don’t say it’s because of their race. But for Black authors, that’s what publishers are likely to blame.