The CBC Diversity initiative was founded in 2012, as part of the Children’s Book Council’s commitment to promoting diverse voices in literature for young people. We believe that all children deserve to see their world reflected in the books they read. We recognize that diversity takes on many forms, including differences in race, religion, gender, geography, sexual orientation, class, and ability.
CBC Diversity Lunch & Learn Sales Panel Recapped!
Check out PW’s detailed account of the CBC Diversity Sales panel, which was moderated by Angus Killick, VP and Associate Publisher at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group (far left) on November 12, 2014 during the lunchtime event. The thoughtful and forthcoming panelists were (left to right):
- Max Rodriguez, Founder of the Harlem Book Fair
- Nikki Mutch, New England District Sales Manager at Scholastic Inc.
- Ray Paszkiewicz, Senior Buyer, Baker & Taylor Inc.
Some of the questions included:
- How would your customers define an inclusive book?
- What are ways we can promote diverse authors and stories that aren’t necessarily award winners or extremely literary?
- How does the lack of diversity among the sales staff affect the placement and sales of diverse books?
- Are there certain subject matters that are seen as more viable than others in selling titles that star diverse characters?
- What’s a successful inclusive book look like from a sales perspective?
- What kind of demand is there for inclusive stories?
- What are strategies publishers can implement to sell more inclusive stories?
