Diversity in Publishing – Studies & Stats
— Last checked and updated April 29, 2021, by Rachel Lin, Langara College Library & Information Technology practicum student.
The Basics
King, Amy & Sarah Clark. “The 2017 VIDA Count.” VIDA: Women in Literary Arts, Jun. 17, 2018. Compiles demographic data on how various underrepresented groups and populations are reviewed, awarded grants, etc. Visit Site
Low, Jason. “Where Is the Diversity in Publishing? The 2015 Diversity Baseline Survey Results.” Lee & Low Books, Jan. 26, 2016. Read Article
Pope, Colin. “We Need to Talk About the Canon: Demographics in The Norton Anthology.” The Millions, Apr. 29, 2019. Read Article
A Deeper Dive
“The 2018 Black SFF Writer Survey Report.” FIYAH-Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction. Visit Site
Agosto, Denise E., Sandra Hughes-Hassell & Catherine Gilmour-Clough. “The All-White World of Middle-School Genre Fiction: Surveying the Field for Multicultural Protagonists.” Children’s Literature in Education, Vol. 34, No. 4, Dec. 2003, pp. 257–75. ResearchGate. Read Article
Akbar, Arifa. “Diversity in Publishing: Still Hideously Middle-class and White?” The Guardian, Dec. 9, 2017. Read Article
Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. “CCBC Diversity Statistics.” Includes books by and about Black, Indigenous and People of Color, Diversity Statistics FAQs, Resources, etc. Visit Site
Degen, John & Harry Thurston. “Canadian Writers Working Harder While Earning Less.” The Writers’ Union of Canada, 2015. Read Press Release and Report
McArdle, Molly. “‘You Will Be Tokenized’: Speaking Out About the State of Diversity in Publishing.” Brooklyn Magazine, Feb. 25, 2016. McArdle discusses the results of the Lee & Low industry study and what it means to speak about racism in the publishing industry, including the experiences of people of colour in the publishing industry. Visit Site
Rawson, Casey. “Are All Lists Created Equal? Diversity in Award-Winning and Bestselling Young Adult Fiction.” The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, Jun. 14, 2011. Read Article
Wilson, Kristian. “How Diverse Is Children’s Literature?” Bustle, Sep. 14, 2016. Read Article
Yorio, Kara. “Survey Shows ‘No Discernible’ Progress Diversifying Publishing.” School Library Journal News & Features. Jan. 28, 2020. Read Article
Reports and Surveys
“2018 Canadian Book Publishing Diversity Baseline Survey – Summary Report.” Association of Canadian Publishers, March 2019. Read Report
“Further Reading: Demand for Diversity.” BookNet Canada, May 17, 2019. A list of resources, surveys, etc. collected by BookNet for the book industry after their survey. May have some applicability to magazine publishing. Visit Site
“Demand for Diversity: A Survey of Canadian Readers.” BookNet Canada, May 1, 2019. Read Report
Kean, Danuta, ed. “Writing the Future: Black and Asian Writers and Publishers in the UK Marketplace.” Spread the Word, Apr. 15, 2015. Read Report
Lo, Malinda. “2014 LGBT YA by the Numbers.” Diversity in YA, Dec. 10, 2014. On young adult literature. Read Report
Shah, Angilee. “A Survey of Who Works in the Book Industry Gives Us a Clue about Why It’s Not Diverse.” Public Radio International, Jan. 28, 2016. Read Article
“Stella Count.” Analysis, Melinda Harvey and Julieanne Lamond. The Stella Count assesses the number of books written by men and women in Australia. Read 2018 Report
“The Diversity Baseline Survey: Taking a Look in the Mirror.” Lee & Low Books. Read Article
