Blackman and Morpurgo support children's Diversity event

    Inclusive Minds will hold a “speed-dating style roundtable event” aimed at bringing people across the industry together to talk about how to publish more inclusive and diverse children’s books.

    The event, called A Place at the Table, will aim to “turn discussions about diversity and inclusion into real action” and is being supported by current Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman, and former laureates Julia Donaldson, Anne Fine and Michael Morpurgo, the last of whom said it was a “hugely important initiative”.

    Following A Place at the Table, which takes place in January, Inclusive Minds, a collective for those interested in children’s books and diversity, aims to release a charter, titled Everybody In, which will be developed with publishers.

    Announcing the initiative at The Bookseller Children’s Conference yesterday (September 25th), Inclusive Mind’s Beth Cox said: There are lots of books that are inclusive but we still need more.

    “Diversity and inclusion is a hot topic at the moment. Inclusion is coming to the forefront but it is not a trend, it is a fact of life.

    “Inclusion works when it’s a natural part of publishing.”

    A Place at the Table will take place on January 28th next year and will involve authors and illustrators who are committed to diversity and inclusion posing questions to each table of attendees.

    Topics will include the importance of access to inclusive and diverse books and ideas for practical and commercially sound strategies to ensure that more books are produced.

    People at the event will work on a series of action points, which will inform the Everybody In charter.

    Inclusive Minds will make diversity training available, tailored to suit the needs of individual publishers. It is envisaged that A Place at the Table will be the first of a number of events.

    The initiative will use the hashtag #EverybodyIn on social media.

    A Place at the Table is inspired by an event held in America by the Children's Book Council through its diversity initiative CBC Diversity.

    The event is being developed by Inclusive Minds in partnership with publishers, the PA, IPG and EQUIP.