UNIVERSAL MUSIC Group (UMG) and The Reading Agency have launched a new campaign to provide books written by black authors to libraries in the United Kingdom.

The ‘Mark My Words’ campaign will gift libraries titles for both adults and children and will include both fiction and non-fiction books by black authors. 

The books are going to be chosen collaboratively between UMG and The Reading Agency and will be donated to local authority hubs across the UK.   

The new initiative comes as research on children’s books in the UK shows that published authors and illustrators do not reflect the UK population at large.

In 2019, 8.68% of children’s book creators were people of colour, with just 2.86% being British people of colour

Karen Napier, CEO, The Reading Agency says: “We are delighted to be partnering with Universal Music Group on this inspiring campaign.

“A key objective for The Reading Agency is to ensure the work and impact of The Reading Agency is reflective of the society in which we live and of those we serve.

“Working together on this campaign offers an exciting opportunity to fulfil some of these objectives and celebrate important books by excellent Black authors.”

The Reading Agency is a national charity which helps 1.9 million people benefit from reading ever year. 

Research demonstrates that children’s books can support young people in the exploration of themselves and others, providing recognition for readers who can identify, and insight and understanding for those who don’t.

The Voice, has previously reported on the growing demand for black books in public libraries nationwide.

The leading charity partnered with UMG through the company’s UK Task Force for Meaningful Change (UKTFMC), which focuses on the unique challenges facing the UK’s black community. 

The partnership aims to boost interest in black literature.

The titles will be available to borrow in public libraries from early December. 

A series of events in libraries across the country with some of the books’ authors will also be part of the roll-out, as a way to promote black authors. 

For black and other ethnic minority writers, studies show they are ‘undervalued’ by the publishing industry, which affects the acquisition, promotion, and sales of their books.

A survey of writers across the UK found that while 13% of respondents identified as being from a minority ethnic background, only 9% earned more than £30,000 annually for their writing. 

By gifting these books into libraries UMG and The Reading Agency hope to shine a light on Black authors and their creativity.

Dr. Menna Demessie, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Universal Music Group’s global Task Force for Meaningful Change says: “Supporting initiatives like ‘Mark My Words’ is extremely important for us.

“To be able to help place Black authors’ work into more hands, to help push Black stories into more spaces – it’s so important to this journey of empowerment, empathy, and unity that we are all on as a nation. We thank The Reading Agency for helping us to deliver such a powerful project.”

UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment industry and has a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content. 

The series of gifted books will be announced in November and will include titles from the 2022 Quick Reads series, The Reading Agency’s life-changing programme which tackles the UK’s adult literacy crisis by helping less confident readers get reading.