IN AN attempt to address the woeful lack of representation in children’s literature one woman is on a crusade to champion authors of colour and promote diversity in the publishing industry.

Ayesha A-Choudhury launched Mirror Me Write in Manchester, at the same time promoting Leicester-based author Pamela Aculey who used her own experiences to write a book about a boy with autism. Mirror Me Write is an independent seller of diverse, relatable, relevant and inclusive books, for children and young adults.

RESOURCES

“We believe that children need to learn from resources that are inclusive of all voices from around the world, so that we can truly raise global citizens who foster respect and tolerance.

“These are not always stories that fit the media agenda. Often, we find stories about terrorism and being refugees. We have something positive to say and we want to empower children from our communities.

“When I see children fearing other people from other cultures I think that is one of the saddest things,” said Ayesha.

Newly published author, Pamela, has written a book that represents the values Ayesha supports.

Pamela, who has three mixed-race sons, says that she is saddened by the fact that there has been very little progress with representation since her own childhood.

“My eldest son, Walter, has autism and it has completely opened my eyes to the work that still needs to be done in terms of representation. I feel really strongly that we need to change.”

Her book, Buster Finds His Beat, is based on Walter and is a heart-warming story about an autistic boy with a sensory processing disorder.

Autism is a spectrum disorder meaning that people with autism may have a wide range of mild, moderate, or severe symptoms.

Walter was non-verbal until the age of four and they found communication extremely difficult when he was a child, using visuals to stimulate communication and learning.

“We soon realised that he had this love affair with words, visuals and pictures.

“Walter loved books and although he couldn’t read, he loved having mummy and daddy read a story to him.

“This was great except for the fact there weren’t any books where he could see himself in the pages.

“So, there was lack of representation from an ethnicity and disability point of view,” said Pamela.

“I decided that I was going to start my own picture book series where at the heart of each story I will champion representation, inclusiveness and kindness.”

Despite much talk of building inclusivity in publishing she found it very difficult to get the book published through the traditional route – she claims that publishers loved the story because autism is not talked about but advised her to change the ethnicity of her character in order to sell more volumes.

“I found this shocking and really hurtful so I decided to publish my book myself.”

PASSIONATE

“Moving forward, what I would like to do is find a way of getting these books to children in Manchester. “All children should have access to books like these and I’m very passionate about that. I believe in Pamela and what she is saying and this is one of the books children should be reading,” said Ayesha.

Along with touring schools and other establishments Ayesha’s vision is to have a Mirror Me Write Independent bookshop in Manchester one day, “Manchester definitely has space and a need for a new cool independent book shop.”