Breaking Ground Ireland: Diversity and Inclusion in Contemporary Literature and Publishing

Research Description

There is a longstanding lack of diversity within the publishing industry, both nationally and internationally. Lee & Low Books’ Diversity Baseline Survey (2015, 2019) indicates that in North America 76% of those working in publishing are white. Comparable industry statistics are currently unavailable for Ireland, but the UK Publishing Industry Diversity & Inclusion Survey (2017-2020) paints a picture of a similarly homogeneous workforce: only 13% of those working in publishing identified as BAME. What is more, a 2015 report from the UK entitled ‘Writing the Future’ indicates that writers of colour feel they are often steered by white, middle-class editors into reproducing racial stereotypes, and a 2020 report from the UK entitled ‘Reflecting Realities’ has found that only 5% of children’s books had a minority ethnic main character. These very pressing issues of diversity, equality and inclusion that must be addressed at a societal level.

Breaking Ground Ireland directly intervenes in this space. It is the product of a three-way international collaboration between Dr Lindsay Reid (an academic from the School of English, Media, and Creative Arts at the University of Galway), Sasha de Buyl (then-Director of Galway City’s Cúirt International Festival of Literature), and Speaking Volumes (a UK-based arts organisation whose prior work on diversity and inclusion directly inspired this project).

At the centre of the Breaking Ground Ireland pamphlet are short biographies of 90 writers and illustrators from ethnic minority backgrounds who are working on the island of Ireland today. These include photos and information on the genre(s) or form(s) in which these artists work. The pamphlet also includes a specially commissioned piece penned by award-winning author Kit de Waal as well as brief essays written by project partners. In preparing this pamphlet, research and networking activities were conducted by Lindsay Reid and Sasha de Buyl to identify prospective authors and illustrators. This was accompanied by a robust social media campaign and open call for submissions. This two-pronged strategy was adopted to remove barriers and to promote inclusion of the widest possible range of individuals, including emergent artists who might not yet have achieved significant recognition in the cultural sphere.

Breaking Ground Ireland represents a conceptual continuation and further development of Speaking Volumes’ existing ‘Breaking Ground’ series, which began in the UK in 2013 with the publication of a pamphlet called Breaking Ground. Breaking Ground Ireland builds upon Speaking Volumes’ existing model, extending their UK-specific expertise and applying it in a new and distinct (Island of Ireland) context. The creation and dissemination of Breaking Ground Ireland was supported by a €12,000 New Foundations Grant from the Irish Research Council (IRC). It exemplifies ‘engaged research’, which, as the IRC defines it, is research that is collaboratively ‘advanced with community partners rather than for them’.