'Content and context: Inclusivity editing in children's fiction'. A 2023 CIEP conference session.
This year I couldn't attend many of the CIEP conference sessions in real time. Unlike last year though, I made a more realistic plan of the recordings to catch up on. Very glad I did (you have till 15 Dec – a day away! – to watch them) and that it included this gem of a session by Lisa Davis , children's book editor and publishing consultant with in-depth industry knowledge and a passion for helping writers create inclusive and fun stories for all children everywhere.
I don't edit fiction or children's literature, but I grew up on books. Not building blocks, nor role-play toys, just books. Almost. And one of my most favourite things about parenting is being able to share that world – imaginative, emotional, questioning, wonder-filled – with my child. No surprises then that I had this at the top of my catch-up list of sessions or that I decided to make some sense of my notes and share here. In case someone somewhere is reading to or with a child, writing for one or simply interested in actively making an inclusive planet.
Think-about questions from Lisa
What was your favourite book as a child?* What do you actually remember about this favourite book? Maybe characters? Key scenes? A song or rhyme? A strong image? Do you think you'd actually remember the words from the book today? Do you think you'd notice if words had changed but nobody told you they'd changed?
Sensitivity reading versus inclusivity editing
Sometimes editors are employed for feedback on specific parts of a book based on their lived experience. Important for when writers are writing about identities different from their own because it helps them create more authentic characters, spaces and worlds. Other times editors are employed to look at the book as a whole, to evaluate the use of language and imagery. The goal?
The term 'sensitivity reading' tends to lay emphasis on editors and readers being sensitive to content. The term 'inclusivity editing' explains – perhaps more accurately? – what the this editing process involves: that editors try to be inclusive of all readers. Whatever you choose to call this type of editing, editors are essentially looking for unconscious bias in a piece of text. Unfortunate that we've turned the word 'sensitive' into a criticism of the process, deriding editors and readers for being 'too sensitive'. Failing to keep the focus on the goal of making texts inclusive and authentic also means we're taking away a core human value – sensitivity: the act of being thoughtful, receptive and responsive, dictionary-defined as 'awareness of the feelings of others'. (Something, in my opinion, you can't be too much of.) While we can continue debating over the terms we use to describe this editing process, we need to remember our aim as editors, collectively, is the same: to remove bias and enhance inclusion.
Bias
Bias is learnt. A 2020 American Psychological Association study showed that 3-year-old children associate some racial groups with negative traits. And there are studies showing how Black children view race (read about the doll test and writing in classrooms). Children notice race much earlier than adults are ready to talk about its implications. Which means they are making sense of the 'adult' world and forming ideas and opinions based on their observations of adult behaviour, language, processes and systems. As an example, writing only about white protagonists may be a sign of system racism but it also highlights the lack of presence, of seeing oneself and ones family and sociocultural presence represented in books and stories. A 2022 CLPE study in the UK show that 9% of main characters in children's books are from racially minortised backgrounds, but that children from racially minortised groups make up 18% of the population. That children are picking up the widespread representation of one race over another in their books, without explicitly being told so, is reflected in their writing with white characters. The problem of bias in books takes a different form when we think of overrepresentation of a people but inaccurately (e.g. think of children in care and the stereotypical tropes of orphans, neglect and abuse leading to negative views of the care system that is otherwise valuable and essential at its core).
The words we use and depict in illustrations are as important as the ones we leave out. A reason why we need to address issues in literature across time periods, holistically and with honesty.
Editing and publishing for the past, present and future
Editorial decisions need to be based on
The aim is to normalise people in all their identities, not to influence children one way or another. To normalise and accept parts of humanity by reflecting it accurately in books.
Debates – often contentious – around editing and republishing books continue to consume media space, particularly when the titles are classics and the authors of great fame across generations, read, reread, taught and studied year after year (think Enid Blyton, also modernised and republished with more success in South Asian markets than in the UK; and more recently, Roald Dahl). How then do publishers weigh their options for republishing a title?
Incredible problematic title, with controversial plot line and entire passages needing to be written
Some issues in title, with some dated / problematic terminology
Context of editing children's books: How, who and what age?
While publishers, writers and editors always need to consider their readers, when editing children's books, it is important to also always think about how a child will be consuming the content. How will they be reading a book?
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Other problems to consider:
Editorial decisions need to consider a child's critical thinking development. Children of different ages process content differently and can start challenging things that might not be acceptable. In non-specialist terms, critical thinking is the 'process of thinking about your own thinking'.
(Think of a classic children's book you've read keeping in mind these abilities. Can you identify problems in that one title from the perspective of children of different ages?)
All of these considerations influence publishers' choices and how they approach the options in front of them (see above). This 'how' can and should change over time, with evolving language and sociocultural contexts. Opinions of what is ok and is not ok is constantly changing. It requires people and businesses to take a bold step to point out these problems and decide to make changes. With as much accurate research as possible, not on a whim. The core reason why we – editors – need to be sensitive, caring readers.
Key questions
Inclusivity editing done at an early stage of publishing helps to show more content accurately. There are two essential questions to consider are:
Remember that not every book can include everyone, but we can make every effort not to exclude someone. (Think of disability versus design and accessibility needs.)
Even more questions than answers
Now go back to that favourite childhood book. Will your warm and fuzzy feelings for the book change if you know it's misrepresenting a group of people or lived experiences? Would you feel better sharing it with a child if you knew publishers regularly checked and updated language and content? Not a straightforward right and wrong process. As a key part of the publishing process, editors need to consider the impact of words, phrases and representations. We need to look at our own biases – which we all have – to questions status quo and understand how to push against stereotypes ingrained within us. The language we use and scenes we depict in writing can be loaded with meanings, sometimes unintended ones. True of all books, whether for children or adults.
I loved that the session ended with a reminder of Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche's powerful words about stories: 'Stories matter . . . Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanise. Stories can break the dignity of people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.'
Thanks also to all the session attendees for the excellent, thought-provoking questions.
I don't know if I will ever have the courage to edit children's books, but my takeaway from this is to embrace my sensitivity – or whatever you choose to call it – and not be afraid of bringing it to the table as an editor, parent and human being. To be bold, even if quietly so, in questioning myself and others; in making changes at work and in life. To not exclude, and so include, as best possible.
*I have three favourite childhood books for reasons I can't quite explain beyond that even thinking about them creates special pictures in my head and brings characters and scenes to life, almost as vividly today as it did the first time I read them: Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window (by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi), The Phantom Tollbooth (by Norton Jester; the same as Lisa's favourite!) and Haroun and the Sea of Stories (by Salman Rushdie). And I can't wait to share them with my child. :)
Resources shared by Lisa: