The thirteen percent problem: authors of colour in the British young adult market, 2017-2019 edition

Ramdarshan Bold, M. (2021) The thirteen percent problem: authors of colour in the British young adult market, 2017-2019 edition. International Journal of Young Adult Literature, 2(1), pp. 1-35. (doi: 10.24877/IJYAL.37)

Abstract

The underrepresentation of people of colour in books and authorship is a critical issue for the British publishing industry. Recent studies have provided both qualitative evidence and longitudinal, quantitative evidence that demonstrates the extent of the problem, fuelling numerous discussions and initiatives within the book community. This article will extend my previous study on YA authorship in the UK, which found that between 2006-2016 only eight percent of the published authors were people of colour. Findings are presented from an analysis of all YA books published in the UK between 2017 and 2019, contextualised with the data from 2006-2016 and recent developments in the market. This article will present yearly trends from 2006 to show if and how things have changed over the years. Specifically, as with the previous research, this study sought to investigate the percentage of YA books that are written by authors of colour, and the percentage of YA authors that are people of colour and British people of colour.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ramdarshan Bold, Dr Melanie
• Authors: Ramdarshan Bold, M.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races; P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General); P Language and Literature > PZ Childrens literature; Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z004 Books. Writing. Paleography
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Culture, Literacies, Inclusion & Pedagogy
• Journal Name: International Journal of Young Adult Literature
• Publisher: Fincham Press
• ISSN: 2634-5277
• ISSN (Online): 2634-5277
• Published Online: 12 November 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Author
• First Published: First published in International Journal of Young Adult Literature 2(1): 1-35
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License