'Dire statistics' show YA fiction is becoming less diverse, warns report
Study finds that fewer books for young adults by black and minority ethnic authors have been published in the UK since 2010, despite rise in diversity initiatives
Despite a raft of diversity initiatives, the percentage of young adult books written by black and minority ethnic (BME) authors has declined steadily since 2010, according to a new study warning that the UK’s “outdated” publishing culture must take rapid action to address a systemic problem in its ranks.
The research is “evidence of what many people already suspected: people of colour are terribly under-represented in books and bookish jobs”, according to its author Dr Melanie Ramdarshan Bold at University College London. It follows hot on the heels of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education’s report into character diversity in children’s books, which showed only 1% of books published in the UK last year had a BME main protagonist.
Related: Only 1% of children's books have BAME main characters – UK study
If you feel that literary Britain doesn’t have space for you and your voice, you’re not going to grow up to be a writer
