Only 1% of UK children's books feature main characters of colour

Research finds that of 9,115 titles published last year, only 4% featured BAME characters, the figure falling to 1% for heroes and heroines

Only 1% of British children’s books feature a main character who is black or minority ethnic, a investigation into representations of people of colour has found, with the director calling the findings “stark and shocking”.

In a research project that is the first of its kind, and funded by Arts Council England, the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) asked UK publishers to submit books featuring BAME characters in 2017. Of the 9,115 children’s books published last year, researchers found that only 391 – 4% - featured BAME characters. Just 1% had a BAME main character, and a quarter of the books submitted only featured diversity in their background casts.

Related: Girl's drive to find 1,000 'black girl books' hits target with outpouring of donations

Continue reading...