Here are some actionable suggestions if publishers want to actually help Black and Brown writers (rather than some publicity stunt that helps one or two people, gives a pat on the head to the publisher, and does nothing for anybody else).
1. Actively hire more Black and Brown people in publishing.
1. Actively hire more Black and Brown people in publishing.
Comments
Self-congratulatory nonsense.
More people behind the scenes with lived experience would help.
2. Education: We don't want you to give a few of us life-changing money. We want to
3. Meet and Greets.
Knowing people in publishing helps with a
Open up opportunities for meeting people in all stages of publication. Let's meet booksellers and editors and, yes, agents, and so on.
The world of unpublished writers is rife
Dispel the misconceptions with the truth. But this must also go both ways.
LISTEN to what Black and Brown people
I mean, I'll take a quarter of a million pounds advance, don't get me wrong. Bring it on. But I won't deceive myself that it helps the lot of anybody but myself because it doesn't.
4. Competitions: Same thing applies
Find a way to understand that there are many, many kinds of storytelling traditions and open up to those possibilities.