‘Black and Asian people not seen as readers’: Bernardine Evaristo condemns books industry

In foreword to report into diversity in publishing, Booker prize-winning author rails against ‘ridiculous’ beliefs

Bernardine Evaristo, the first black woman to win the Booker prize, has hit out at “ridiculous” and “misguided” beliefs in the publishing industry, where “black and Asian people are not considered to be a substantial readership, or to even be readers”.

Evaristo, writing the foreword for the UK’s first academic study into diversity in trade fiction and publishing, released on Tuesday, said the report showed that the UK books industry “hasn’t changed fast enough to become more inclusive”. A key finding of the study was that writers of colour and their books are “either whitewashed or exoticised” to appeal to what UK publishing sees as its core audience of white, middle-class readers.

Literature transcends all perceived differences and barriers. It’s partly the point of it

Related: Black Writers’ Guild calls for sweeping change in UK publishing

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