Food for thought- Guest post by Jeffrey K. Boakye
If the UK publishing industry was one person’s dietary habits…
It would never have tasted avocado
It would think garlic was exotic
It wouldn’t know the difference between plantain and bananas
It would think ketchup was spicy
It wouldn’t have a spice cupboard
It wouldn’t know what a falafel is
It would buy ready made pasta sauces
It would put mayonnaise in every sandwich
It would eat sandwiches
It would overcook vegetables
It wouldn’t have friends who weren’t white and British
It would keep eating the same thing
The problem is simple. UK publishing suffers from a lack of appetite for wider, more diverse narratives that would enrich the diets of the mainstream British readership.
The books exist, and the writers are there, but there is a terrifying ignorance surrounding the benefits that quote unquote marginalised writers bring to the table.
The logical conclusion is twofold, and both points are scary:
1. Minoritised writers will simply stop writing. If we don’t sell, how can we justify continuing to try?
2. The mainstream view will shrink in its perspectives to the point of self-defeating ignorance in an increasingly globalised world.
As someone who has tried various industry keys including fiction, non-fiction, children, adults and memoir, I know first-hand what it takes to get published in an industry that struggles to promote and sell non-white authors. It’s not just about flavours and exoticism, it is about perspectives that illuminate the world from a vantage point outside of the centre. It’s about new recipes that open new experiences. What we do is essential, I swear.
The lack of appetite isn’t simply the fault of readers. If our books aren’t on the menu, served up in schools, talked about in the media, respected for their invention, then why would an ‘average’ reader care to pick them up?
There’s a political context to consider too – a rising far right that wants this country to look inwards and backwards rather than outward and forwards. It’s no accident that the appeal of black narratives is diminishing.
Yeah, like I said, food for thought.
Jeffrey K. Boakye
