Meet Bianca from black&write!

Meet Bianca, one of two junior editors from black&write! who are on placement here at Hachette. Tell us a little about yourself!

Jingeri! My name is Bianca. I’m a Blak editor, writer, musician & artist living on Yugambeh Country. For the past two and a half years I’ve worked at black&write! an Indigenous Writing & Editing project at The State Library of Queensland. I’m also the First Nations Wikipedian-In-Residence for Wikipedia working to improve and add First Nations music content. I’m a First Nations Editor-In-Residence at Kill Your Darlings literary journal, and publish and edit a music magazine. I’ve written for Rolling Stone, Rookie, Voiceworks and more.

What were the highlights of the placement you have had with Hachette this week?

The entire week was a highlight! It was a dream come true to spend time in a commercial publishing house learning from all the different departments. I especially enjoyed learning about production, editing - graphic novels, non-fiction and fiction, as well as getting an insight into how publishers acquire manuscripts and their roster of writers. I also loved speaking with the Hachette NZ team and leaning about their passion for, and support of, Māori writers.?

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What has been the most surprising thing you learned during your week-long placement?

I was surprised to learn of all the different kinds of study/careers members of the Hachette team were doing/had before working in publishing and how these diverse skills can be helpful in roles in the publishing world. It was also wonderful to learn that even though Hachette is a big business, the work place environment has a very non-corporate feel. Every single person I met on the team is outstanding in their own unique ways.?

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Could you share your favourite books by Blak and POC authors?

My book shelves in my home library are filled with works by Anita Heiss, Nardi Simpson, Claire G Coleman, Lystra Rose, Alexis Wright, Ellen van Neerven, Elissa Washuta, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Ruby Hamad, Winnie Dunn, Audre Lorde, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Mawunyo Gbogbo,?and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

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Can you speak to the importance of celebrating black joy in the stories we share?

Sharing Blak & POC stories written in our own ways, telling the story we want to tell, with others helps them understand us better. Storytelling establishes common ground and empathy too. We’re often asked to define and dissect our identities through trauma, yet our existence is the same as everyone else’s – full of laughter, love and joy! Revelling in our Blak Joy is a form of resistance and a force for healing too.?

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What is your ideal career pathway?

I want to continue working in publishing and learning. I really enjoy editing, it lets me indulge my grammar and punctuation obsession, as well as my love of attention to detail. I also get great joy and satisfaction from collaborating with writers to enhance and shape their story into the best it can be and getting that into the hands of as many readers as possible. It means a lot to work on book projects that can change someone’s life, perspective, make someone feel less alone, make someone feel seen, or give them a respite/escape from our hectic world—all things reading books have given me over my life.?

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How would you like to see publishers address diversity and inclusivity in the industry?

It’s important that publishing represents the wider world and community, which is a diverse place. Books shape our culture, education and ideas. Those who create books are the gatekeepers of this. Blak & POC writers are not afforded the same creative freedoms, industry access or economic value as their White counterparts.

We can ALL address this whether we work in publishing or not - books we?purchase?and content we consume all either disrupt or contribute to the problem. Publish, buy, read, talk about and recommend Blak & POC books. There’s a genuine increasing demand for our stories. That’s a first step in the right direction.?