What’s the Story? Issues of Diversity and Children’s Publishing in the U.K.

After working for almost a decade as an editor of "multicultural" picture books in the United States (at Children's Book Press and Lee & Low Books), Laura Atkins developed a particular interest in how the publication process affects books written by authors of colour (or non-white authors as is more commonly said in the U.K.). Building on previous research, including her article published in "White Privilege and Children's Publishing: A Web 2.0 Case Study,” Write4Children (Web), she here focuses on issues of diversity, representation and storytelling in children’s books. After sharing some of her personal experiences as an editor, she then builds on author interviews, in the hope of ultimately allowing editors to explore their subjectivity and preferences, which shape the publishers’ catalogues.