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Penguin Lit in Colour has partnered with school supplier Peters to provide schools with new book packs featuring titles by the likes of Malorie Blackman, Natasha Bowen and Toni Morrison.
The aim with the packs is to “help make it more affordable and accessible for schools that are trying to widen the range of literature in their schools". Those on offer range from a Starter Pack made up of 10 titles, to a Comprehensive Pack featuring 100 titles from a range of different publishers.
To celebrate the launch of the partnership, Penguin and Peters will be donating Lit in Colour Comprehensive book packs made up of 100 books by writers of colour to one primary and one secondary school in the UK. The competition is open to all state secondary schools based in the UK and Northern Ireland. More information can be found here.
The book packs are aimed at both primary and secondary school audiences. Titles selected for the primary school book pack include Rashmi Sirdeshpande’s Never Show A T-Rex A Book! (Puffin), illustrated by Diane Ewen, and Malorie Blackman’s Pig-Heart Boy (Corgi Children’s). Titles selected for the secondary school pack include Natasha Bowen’s The Skin of The Sea (Penguin), and Beloved by Toni Morrison (Vintage).
Teachers purchasing the book packs will also be able to access free Lit in Colour educational resources based on many of the titles. These free resources have already reached almost half a million students across the UK according to Penguin.
Angelo Mikhaeil, social impact assistant at Penguin Random House UK, said: “Research we commissioned through Lit in Colour found that one of the key barriers preventing more teachers from introducing books by writers of colour to their students was a lack of time and knowledge of contemporary publishing. Through this partnership with Peters we hope to make it as easy as possible for teachers to discover new stories and storytellers they may not have come across before. Ultimately, our dream is that more students than ever can see themselves in the books that they read at school.”
Hayley Durston, marketing manager for Peters, added: “At Peters we’re committed to helping as many schools as possible access diverse and inclusive books that reflect the backgrounds of all their pupils, and we’re regularly asked for advice and recommendations for diversifying school libraries. We’re excited to be partnering with Lit in Colour to create new book packs for schools, which we hope will make it even easier for teachers to find great books by writers of colour, ensuring all of their students feel represented.”
Lit in Colour was jointly launched by Penguin Random House UK (PRH) and race equality think-tank the Runnymede Trust in September 2020.