Black Authors Rising to the top: Let’s tell our own Stories

BY DAVID MYLES

“You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies, you may trod me in the very dirt but still, like dust, I’ll rise” ~ Maya Angelou

The first few lines of the famous poem by the extraordinary poet, civil rights activist and singer Maya Angelou, amplifies why the need to share our stories is essential. Whether it is in the form of oral storytelling, in true griot fashion, or in print, the importance cannot be denied.

In July 2018, the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), Reflecting Realities published the first UK study examining the diversity of children’s literature. This required an evaluation of children’s literature published in 2017, that featured black or ‘Black and Minority Ethnic’ (BAME) characters to decipher the degree of their representation.

The report revealed that out of 9115 children’s books, only 391 had BAME characters, which equates to about 4% of children’s books. Even more concerning, only 1% of these children’s books in 2017 were said to feature a BAME main character. Within the last two weeks, a new study by CLPE revealed that BAME main characters in children’s books had a slight increase, 4% since the initial study. Such increases are hardly anything to get excited about, but it does show that we are moving in the right direction. Prior to 2017, there has been no previous wide scale study. Around 39% of children within the UK are said to be from BAME backgrounds, and this lack of representation should be viewed as matter of urgency.

Danni Blechner, who is the author, book journey mentor, and founder of Conscious Dreams Publishing, has been addressing the low figures of BAME and more specifically Black (those of African and Caribbean heritage) publications in the UK. Although not focusing exclusively on black children, out of the 60 books that Blechner’s publishing company has produced in its just under three years of publishing, 42 are authors from African and Caribbean heritage backgrounds. The books published are books that: educate, inspire and empower. Amongst these authors are 11 BAME children’s books and two thirteen-year-old black British authors.

Recalling why she established Conscious Dream Publishing Blechner said, “I published my first book (Mr Wrong) in 2014 through my own company, and in 2015 began meeting so many ‘ordinary’ people with extraordinary stories who needed my help.”

Although the process that lead to Blechner establishing Conscious Dream Publishing was organic and was “Not a conscious decision,’’ the turning point was after the success of her first book ‘Mr Wrong’.

“I got onto the best-seller list beating Steve Harvey’s ‘Think Like a Man, Act like a Lady’ and I got some decent press. So I had lots of people coming to me asking, how did you do that? Can you help me publish my book? So I was connecting them up with editors, typesetters and designers and the authors started getting amazing press and getting into bookshops. Suddenly I thought hold on, my profession is teaching and I love books, I can actually make a career of mentoring authors and helping them publish their books. There are too many incredible people out there with powerful stories who just aren’t getting heard by the mainstream.”

Conscious Dream Publishing will be holding an event ‘Black Authors on the Rise’ and will feature 15 of the 42 Black authors the company has published. The authors’ books will be on sale and attendees will have the opportunity to participate in several workshops that will be held that day.

Black Authors on the Rise will take place on Saturday 19^th October from 11:00am – 16:00 at West London’s Brent Community Hub, 6 Hillside, Stonebridge London, NW10 8BN

Entrance admission is free and workshops range from £5 – £7 which can be purchased via: https://jus-tickets.com/events/black-authors-on-the-rise/

Conscious Dreams Publishing website: https://consciousdreamspublishing.com/

“If the door is not open, we must create one and open one for others.” ~ Danni Blechner