An Open Letter to the Publishing Industry: Love, the South West

Posted by hjv202

11 April 2024

by Hannah Van den Branden

Dear Publishers,

You’re right, there have been steps in the right direction. But we were promised the world. A world of equal opportunities, equal access, equal footing. A world where calls for justice are not only heard, but answered, respected. So, where is it?

The bright, sparkling, and inclusive future that isn’t far away. In fact, we are supposedly experiencing its beginnings now, in our present. We can’t help but look around and see gaps. Cavities. There is so much missing. As we are sure you are aware, now is the time for change. This perfect world is so often dangled out of our reach, but it is firmly in your grasp. You have the power to create something rare, and meaningful. Why wouldn’t you?

Despite reflections on how the industry operates as an exclusory space, and initiatives that have aimed to rectify this, it is a profession that ‘is still dominated by those who are ‘white. And posh’’¹. In fact, even with recent pledges to increase diversity, publishers have been found to refuse to make ‘proactive attempts to engage ‘BAME’ or working-class audiences’². Society will no longer stand for statements without action. Literature must be inclusive to all, or it is without value. The workforce must be diversified, and actively so, or it is corrupted. The continued exclusion of those who do not belong to white, middle-class or London-centric groups is wholly detrimental. There are stories to be told and to be lived. Don’t be the force that sweeps the creative output of our generation under the rug.

We would like to echo the Northern Fiction Alliance’s invitation to set up outside of London and look beyond the M25³. We also support their Eight Point Plan and wish to add a few of our own.

There should be no gender pay gap in 2024, and it certainly should not favour men by as much as 26.69%⁴.
More effort should be made to encourage, hire and support those who are still under-represented in the trade. To be inclusive of ethnic minority groups, womxn, transgender and non-binary peoples, and those with visible and invisible disabilities is crucial.
To build on this, inclusivity for all is not only a priority, but a necessity. It is not an offshoot from the to-do list, but an ever-changing goal. Strive to achieve it.
There are many barriers facing industry hopefuls. It is the responsibility of large publishers to remove these; allow working from home, host more digital networking, open offices outside of London. Listen to writers and professionals from all walks of life and learn.
Tick-box equality is not the answer – class disparity in the UK is a major issue, and though it is not a protected characteristic by law, the industry should uplift working-class writers and professionals.
For easier access to the industry, more low-level jobs should be created that exist separately from nepotistic networks that have previously sustained publishing.
We believe that independent presses and start-ups should be spotlighted by major publishers as valuable creative projects, and supported as such. Buying them out to keep as an imprint is not the same as highlighting their vitality.
Translation publishing is not a genre in and of itself – it should be welcomed into literary lists with the same attention as national writing.

With important and exciting creative avenues being explored across the country, many are starting to question ‘who needs London?’ We are left wondering whether we are truly stronger together, or better apart. It would be a great shame to allow persevering notions of how an industry should be run from a century ago to govern the literary landscape of today. We could step into a bright, sparkling, and inclusive future with your power and our passion. By sticking to promises. By allowing those on the peripheries to speak, loud and clear. By wholeheartedly committing to change. We could even do it together.

Yours sincerely,

University of Exeter MA Publishing Cohort 23/24

¹ de Waal, Kit. “Make room for working class writers”. The Guardian, 10 Feb 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/10/kit-de-waal-where-are-all-the-working-class-writers-

² Shaw, Katy. “Common people: Breaking the class ceiling in UK publishing”. Creative Industries Journal, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp214-227, Taylor & Francis Online 10.1080/17510694.2019.1707521.

³An Open Letter to the London-centric Publishing Industry – Northern Fiction Alliance. Available at: http://northernfictionalliance.com/news/an-open-letter-to-the-london-centric-publishing-industry/

⁴Jolly, Margaretta. “Purpose, Power and Profit in Feminist Publishing: An Introduction.” Women: A Cultural Review 32, no. 3–4 doi:10.1080/09574042.2021.1973698.