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Opinion from The Bookseller and other columnists. To pitch a comment piece email Molly Flatt.

Editor's Letter

Driving over lemons

In 1970, Nobel laureate George Akerlof asserted that when everything looks like a lemon, you don’t want to pay extra for a tangerine.
He was theorising about the used-car market, but the argument has also been applied to books.

READ LETTER IN FULL

CLPE Reflecting Realities 2024 | How change happens

by Darren Chetty & Karen Sands-O’Connor

Despite some progress, publishers are yet to show consistent support for children’s books featuring minoritised characters, or ...

CLPE Reflecting Realities 2024 | Before and after Reflecting Realities

by Fen Coles

After a promising period, publishers’ commitment to representation seems to be waning. Is inclusion being relegated to just another trend?

CLPE Reflecting Realities 2024 | Proactivity over reactivity

by Zaahida Nabagereka

As representations of characters of colour decline in children’s books, publishers must identify what is blocking consistent progress.

Editor‘s Letter

Driving over lemons

In 1970, Nobel laureate George Akerlof asserted that when everything looks like a lemon, you don’t want to pay extra for a tangerine.
He was theorising about the used-car market, but the argument has also been applied to books.

READ LETTER IN FULL

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CLPE Reflecting Realities 2024 | ‘Diversity’ in decline

by Melanie Ramdarshan Bold

When diversity in children’s literature is treated as a checkbox or a business decision, progress in representation comes under threat.

Survival machines

by Nadim Sadek

With AI, we get out what we put in—which gives the book trade real power.

We must stand up for art

by Kate Winter

This year’s Klaus Flugge Prize winner calls on the industry to campaign for creatives nationwide.

Don't just wait

by Catherine Balavage Yardley

Stuck in querying hell? It’s the perfect time to work on your writing CV.

Listen UP

by Anthony Cond

The university press sector is a courageous and trailblazing part of the books ecosystem—and the breeding ground of many a trade publishing success.

Mind, Body, Spirit books deserve more respect

by Tania Ahsan

Why is publishing still so sniffy about the Mind, Body, Spirit category when it drives so many sales?

HarperCollins and AI: a brain-training deal to watch closely

by Philip Jones

This week, HarperCollins became the first of the big trade publishers to agree to a licensing arrangement with a company developing artificial intelligence. It won’t be the last.