Writing the future by Vanessa Harbour

I was very lucky this week as my novel Flight was picked by EmpathyLabUK to be included in their Reading for Empathy Guide 2020 in the lead up to #EmpathyDay on June 9^th. Empathy is a skill that can be learned and a vital one as it is part of emotional intelligence. Reading as we know can encourage empathy as it is a chance to walk in someone else’s shoes, for example.

We all also know that the past week or so has been very difficult for other reasons which we are all well aware of and should continue to be at the forefront of our thoughts. I am doing my best to educate myself better all the time on anti-racism. We can say we understand, but we can never understand. We have to do things better and this includes as writers.

I want to tell you a story that someone was telling me the other day. They told me how shocked they were when discussing the situation in an appropriate way with their child, who is 6 plus, and they announced ‘But all black people are baddies!’. They didn’t understand this response as though they are white, they have friends, relatives and neighbours who are BAME.  Confused they questioned the child, pointing out all the people they knew who were BAME and certainly weren’t baddies. The child countered ‘But on the tv, they are always baddies.’ Out of the mouths of babes...

This made me think. I started to watch programmes differently rather than just having them on in the background as I normally do. I began to realise quite often how negatively BAME characters are portrayed. Rarely are they the ones who save the day. Don’t get me wrong, I know this is not a new argument and it has been discussed over and over again including on this blog. This is part of me trying to educate myself better. You see these scenarios played out in life too. In recent interviews time and again we hear about PoC being stopped by the police because they happen to fit a profile. There is an automatic assumption because their face might fit then obviously... It made me wonder if part of that ‘their face fits’ is because of the media representation which reinforces this systemic racism. But I am not here to debate that. It is a subject far too big for my blog post but something we must keep considering and working on. 

Muhammad Khan

I am here to think about the areas we spoke about leading up to and during Empathy Day. How important it is to think about the characters you are creating when writing. It is all too easy, and to a certain extent can be a sign of lazy writing showing a lack of research, to slip into writing stereotypical characters. Be respectful and do your research. Now is the time to challenge them and work hard to fight against those stereotypes. We need to write stories that all children can empathise with giving them windows on other lives or mirrors on their own. Muhammad Khan, so brilliantly put it as sliding doors as well. Where the reader can walk through the doors and experience lives. We have to keep writing stories that provide hope and look to the future. 

As an author who happens to be disabled, I have a pie in the sky dream that we create a world where we no longer need the word 'diverse' with reference to books/tv/film etc as there is equal representation for all without question in all mediums. We can all dream, can't we?

Dr Vanessa Harbour

@VanessaHarbour

www.vanessaharbour.co.uk

http://chaosmos-outofchaoscomesorder.blogspot.com

Reflecting Realities Again by Chitra Soundar

On September 19^th of this year, CLPE published their second annual reporton BAME representation in children’s literature in the UK. The purpose of the report as stated by Farrah Serroukh is “The value of reflecting realities, individuals, identities, cultures and communities is rooted in the importance of elevating all lived experiences and recognising them as worthy of note and exploration.”

While some high-level statistics might show an upward trajectory, there is still a long way to go.

Three in every 10 children is from a BAME background in a UK classroom, only 7 in 100 books represent their presence. But not all of that representation was authentic or the central to the book. Only 4% of the books had a main character from a non-white background. And this does feel stark when compared to 42% of the books have animals as lead characters. It underscores and unconsciously tells a child of colour that they do not rank the same privileges as animal characters.

The research also breaks down the stats into specific ethnicities and as a British Asian I do find it alarming that while 6.8% of British are Asians while only 0.14% of the books are for them. I’m scribbling away as fast as I can so that my nephews get to read the books they feature in, they are the lead characters in.

But as a single author or even as a small group of authors, we cannot change the make-up of the bookshelves in Waterstones. It’s important for all writers to consider authentic representation in their books. 

However, in this regard the survey clearly points out that many of the portrayals raised concerns. Some concerns were regarding how these characters were illustrated and, in some cases, darker the skin-tone in the illustrations, less virtuous the characters. In 2019, as a writer of colour and an aunt of two mixed-race nephews, I worry that the subliminal messaging of good vs bad will set in far too early in young minds.

Here is a recent video from Guardian that talks about how children view this world of books.

The other important factor uncovered in this survey is the “skipping over” of uncomfortable truths in history – glorifying western explorers without referring to the harm they caused during those daring acts of bravery. Language is another area where the report points out hidden bias, stereotypical references and of course pointing out that one character is a person of colour by describing them and keeping the white characters default.

The report also highlights excellent examples where the books have succeeded in in good representations in terms of words and pictures.

While reading the report, I was reminded of an article written by Mitali Perkins, who points out that all writers have institutional bias and language shortcuts in their writing – this is because even writers of colour grew up reading white writers and hence adopt unconsciously the same techniques. Here is an article that she wrote almost 10 years ago for the School Library Journal which sadly is still relevant. Recently Mitali produced a checklist for writers and editors to use to edit their texts of such bad representations. Editing as all writers know is a conscious task and hence will help undo some of the unconscious language that might have swept into our stories.

While thinking about this report, I also want to talk about the care that needs to be taken when writing another culture. What we see on TV or our close friends in one or two social interactions do not substitute for research. This research article on the ice-berg of cultural understanding will help to prevent our own stories from sinking due to inaccurate portrayals.

The CLPE Reflecting Realities 2019 report has created some useful terminology that all writers and editors and publishers can use to check their own text. Some notable ones are Wallpapering, Ethnic fluidity, The Jasmine default.

Most often the cure for a problem can be found when it’s diagnosed. In some cases, like cultural representation, measuring is a key tool. US started their research via CCBC in 2002. UK has just started its measurements in 2017 and there is a long way to go to establish patterns and watch trends.

But in the meantime, as writers, we can all be more aware of our position in this pyramid and how we can use the space and voice we have, to empower children of all colour and abilities. 

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Chitra Soundar is an internationally published author of over 40 books for children. Her books have been published in the UK, US, India, Singapore and translated into German, French, Japanese and Thai. Her picture book Varsha’s Varanasi was included in the White Ravens catalogue this year, a prestigious list of international literature for young people. Her picture books Farmer Falgu Goes Kite Flying was included in the IBBY International Books of USA and You’re Safe with Me was shortlisted for the 2019 Kate Greenaway Medal for the Poonam Mistry’s unique illustrations. Follow her on twitter @csoundar

Publishing and #diversedecember by Savita Kalhan

#diversedecember was launched on Twitter on the 1st of December to celebrate BAME, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, authors, and to highlight the continuing lack of diversity in publishing.

I have blogged about the lack of diversity in children's literature here and blogged about how the States was tackling the very same problem - #weneeddiversebooksUK

I also blogged about Malorie Blackman and Bali Rai's call for more diversity in children's literature, and how the lack of diversity affected me when I was growing up - Black and White and Everything in Between

Rosie Canning and Lindsey Bamfield highlighted the lack of diversity and held a Diverse Author Day in September, which I blogged about - #diverseauthorday

Now, Nikesh Shukla has joined Jon McGregor in an attack slamming the elitism of an industry which “work[s] to perpetuate an environment in which their own sort feel at home."

You can read the Guardian article here -
Where are the Brown People?: authors slam lack of diversity in UK publishing

On Twitter people have been sharing what they want to read this month and recommending books. It's easier to do this with contemporary fiction because there seem to be far fewer published books by BAME teen writers.

So, in that spirit, I'll be reading these two great new books published this year by BAME teen/YA authors:

The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo by Catherine Johnson

13 Hours by Narinder Dhami

Please add any book recommendations in the comments below.

I'll also be reading these adult fiction books:

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

The Private Life of Mrs Sharma by Ratika Kapur

A Restless Wind by Sharukh Husain

Nosy Crow has announced that they would like to support #diversedecember. So if there are any BAME authors out there, now is your chance to submit. Check out the submission guidelines first here - Nosy Crow

Tom from Nosy Crow said, "Today we’re announcing an open call for children’s fiction submissions from debut BAME writers. I think that it’s incredibly important that our industry represents a wide range of voices, not only so that children from every background can recognise their own lives and experiences in the books that they read, but also simply to enrich the body of children’s literature that we publish, by moving out of a monoculture and embracing a wider world of ideas."

Nikesh Shukla is also compiling an anthology of essays by BAME authors, The Good Immigrant, fifteen writers who will be exploring what it means to be Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic in the UK today. He is looking for funding - here's the link if you'd like to pledge - UNBOUND
J K Rowling has just pledged £5K.

You can follow #diversedecember on Twitter for more book recommendations and news.



You can follow me on Twitter here @savitakalhan
My website - savitakalhan.com
My Facebook page - Savita Kalhan Author