The extensive new report from PEN America, Missing from the Shelf: Book Challenges and Lack of Diversity in Children’s Literature (PDF), brings together what seems obvious as soon as we hear it: when local communities ban a book in a school or library—or when librarians or booksellers hesitate to order a book because they worry about community reaction—literature related to diversity and tolerance (or the lack of them) is likely to be the first to go. “Fear of the other” has always driven many forms of censorship.
Inside the industry, there’s a deepening understanding of how white and female the business has become, as when Orion editor Emma Smith tells Publishing Perspectives, “When I was trying to get into publishing, one top industry professional said: ‘The problem with publishing is that there are too many white middle-class girls called Emma.’ And here I am. I’m highly aware of the fact that I’m part of a broader problem in the industry.”
Maybe most compelling is the report’s attention to “soft censorship.” These cases aren’t the headline-grabbing, picketing-parent bannings of such titles as Two Boys Kissing (David Levithan, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2013) or Looking for Alaska (John Green, Dutton Children’s Books, 2005). As the report points out, such school-board showdowns can actually generate publicity for books.
“Soft-censorship” (see page 12 of the report) occurs when educators refrain from offering books to kids for fear of community reaction. And of equal concern are what the study calls “absent stories” (see page 13), a sharp lack of “children’s and young adult books about people of color.”
One of the most powerful concepts posited in the report is the “imagination gap,” something that the authors say is occurring in children’s developmental years: “The missing stories of children and young adults of color have a profound impact on all children, says Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, an assistant professor of literacy in the education school at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on race in children’s literature. White kids often cannot imagine the experience of children of color—and kids of color often do not see a reflection and affirmation of their own rich imaginative worlds.”
Bottom line: We encourage you to find some time to spend with this brand-new release. Its assertions are supported by excellent commentary from many fine sources, and the timing—it was released during the September 25–October 1 observance of Banned Books Week—was meticulous. The current election cycle in the States couldn’t put a sharper point on the concerns of this study. With books banned or simply never ordered and made available, the future readership is being shorted when so much is missing from the shelf.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
