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Former OUP publisher launches inclusive fiction development company
Jasmine Richards, formerly a publisher at Oxford University Press (OUP), has launched a fiction development company to create inclusive stories for children.
Through Storymix, which is based in Oxford, Richards will develop stories with BAME protagonists, find up-and-coming BAME writers, then sell the concepts to publishers.
Storymix launched at London Book Fair last month and Richards said she is open to working with publishers in different ways but predominantly the plan is to work like a TV production company, offering ideas to potential partners then taking a development fee to support the writer. Encouraging writers to work on spec and not offering money up front is one of the barriers to the industry, said Richards.
“Finding the talent is a big focus for me and is a big part of why Storymix is attractive to publishers,” she said. “They are really supportive of the business because they are keen to fix the 1% statistic [last year CLPE did a report showing that only 1% of children’s books had a BAME main character]. They liked the idea of helping to develop talent, and they liked the idea of creating commercial books with heart.”
Richards has worked in publishing for 15 years, most recently as Head of the Creative Kitchen for OUP Children's Books, and said there has been progress in representation in teen books but less in children’s fiction. “I have a five-year-old and in 5-8 there isn’t much out there,” she said. “If children don’t see themselves earlier in the reading journey we will lose them to other media.”
With Storymix, Richards said: “The ethos is creating stories that aren’t worthy. They are not about pain or sadness. They show kids being witches or wizards, or riding on dragons,” she told The Bookseller. “Often when in publishing we are talking about diversity we end up showing kids growing up in urban areas. That’s fine but why not have a portal that leads to a land of dinosaurs in Bethnal Green? All children should see themselves in all types of books, whether that be comedy or romance or anything else.”
Anyone who is interested in working with Storymix, including aspiring writers, can contact Richards via the Storymix website. Writers are asked to share a 10-page sample of writing, contact details, genre preference and a short CV.
