Sharmaine Lovegrove: ‘If you don’t have a diverse workforce or product, sooner or later you won’t exist’
The Dialogue Books publisher felt shut out of the book world, working her own way up from secondhand book stall to heading her inclusive new imprint. At last, she writes, the industry is changing
I am from a family of activists. My uncle, Len Garrison, was the founder of the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton, south London, and I draw daily inspiration from his fight for equality along with his love for literature. Books and stories have always been my escape route from busy London life. As a child I was often found reading – in a corner at home in Battersea, or in the library, on a bus, or the back of a car, drifting into the lives of others for hours on end, with only the act of turning the page occasionally jolting me back into reality.
Growing up in the 1980s and 90s, London was incredible, and totally different to the childhood I am giving my son. We had an enormous amount of freedom in an affordable and creative capital, which is just not possible today. My parents were young but could afford to live in the original “nappy valley” off Northcote Road: grand Victorian villas between Wandsworth and Clapham commons, 10 minutes from glorious Battersea Park, passing the maze of housing estates, crisscrossing the river to visit friends and family and falling in love with the whole place.
It was so hard to be the only black woman in my division and for my race to be so defining of my work
Related: Breaking down the barriers – a new chapter in publishing
Related: The Good Agency wins major grant to boost diversity in publishing
