Jacaranda Books

Jacaranda Books is a diversity-led British independent book publishing firm launched in 2012 and known for their effort tackling the gap between white authors and the BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) demographic in United Kingdom's publishing industry.[1][2]

For the flowering plant, see Jacaranda.
For other uses, see Jacaranda (disambiguation).
Jacaranda Books
FoundedDecember 2011 (December 2011)
FounderValerie Brandes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Headquarters locationLondon
Key peopleJazzmine Breary, Magdalene Abraha
No. of employees3
Official websitejacarandabooks.co.uk

History

Jacaranda Books was founded in December 2011 in London by Valerie Brandes after she left Profile Books.[3] with the purpose of promoting inclusivity and diversity in publishing[4] and continuing the legacy of pioneers of diverse publishing such as Margaret Busby, Verna Wilkins, Eric Huntley and Jessica Huntley.[5]

At the time of foundation, according to professor Claire Squires (Professor of Publishing Studies, and Director of the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication at the University of Stirling), the publishing industry in United Kingdom had a homogenised white, middle-class and Oxbridge-dominated workforce.[6] This was reflected in the content published in the industry as a whole which mirrored the situation.[7]

Jacaranda Books' strategy was to address the lack of diversity and the culture of risk aversion[8] in the industry by publishing worldwide renowned titles (such as Rest in power) and award-winning authors (including Bernice McFadden, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Anietie Isong and Irenosen Okojie) some of whom were previously unpublished in the UK.

Six years later, across 90% of the book publishing industry in the UK the situation remained the same.[9] In 2018 Jacaranda partnered with the creative communications agency Words Of Colour to call for submissions for TwentyIn2020[10] and publish 20 black British writers in the year 2020, which would be a first in publishing history. Later in 2018 11.6% of the workforce in publishing was identified as BAME, reaching 13.0% by 2019.[11]

#TwentyIn2020

In February 2018 Jacaranda Books released a call for submissions for Twenty In 2020,[10] which started a chain reaction on the industry: Hachette launched Dialogue Books[12] headed by Sharmaine Lovegrove in May 2018 (publicly inspired by Jacaranda Books, and signing Irenosen Okojie[13]), Penguin Random House launched #Merky Books headed by Stormzy in October 2018,[14] and HarperCollins appointed Nancy Adimora to a new diversity area in February 2020.[15]

A year after the call for submissions the national press made echo of the campaign,[16] and historical partnerships were begun with the London Library[17] and other partners like Foyles.[18]

By 2020 Jacaranda's TwentyIn2020 remains the biggest collection of black authors published in the same year, an effort that was recognised in July 2020 when Jacaranda was awarded the title of 'Small Press of the Year' at the Bookseller's British Book Awards.[19][20]

#AQuickTingOn

In September 2019 Jacaranda announced another campaign A Quick Ting On, a groundbreaking new non-fiction series focused on the black British community, all written by young black British writers.[21] A similar series was later announced by #Merky Books[22] including Anthony Anaxagorou, an author previously published by Jacaranda Books.

#InclusiveIndies and the #BlackLivesMatter movement

In July 2013, Black Lives Matter began on social media after the Trayvon Martin case. The book Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin narrates the facts that began the movement, it was published in United States by Penguin, but not in United Kingdom, where it is published by Jacaranda as part of their stand for diversity.

In June 2020, Jacaranda in partnership with Knights Of collected £160k in the crowdfunding campaign #InclusiveIndies. This was an appeal to try to assure their survival in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The appeal won extra traction through the BlackLivesMatter movement of 2020.[23][24]

After the campaign, the founder of Jacaranda was interviewed in 5 News by Claudia-Liza Armah[25] on "Why diverse literature is important for society to tackle racism".

Impact on the industry and culture

In 2013 staff member Jazzmine Breary contributed[26] to the report Writing The Future: Black and Asian Authors Publishers in the Market Place.[27] In 2018 she participated on the jury at the Young British Muslim Writers Awards.[28] As sales, publicity and marketing manager, she was named one of Bookseller's rising stars in 2020.[29]

Jacaranda's founder, Valerie Brandes, was listed consecutively in the Powerlist 2018[30] and Powerlist 2019[31][32] as one of the 100 most influential black Britons, a list shared with such other personalities as Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.[33]

In 2019 staff member Magdalene Abraha left Bloomsbury Publishing to join Jacaranda,[34] and the same year she was named among Bookseller's rising stars.[35]

References
  1. "FROM JACARANDA TO THE JHALAK PRIZE: THE CHANGEMAKERS PUSHING FOR DIVERSITY IN PUBLISHING". The Times. 5 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  2. "Diversity in publishing – still hideously middle-class and white?". The Guardian. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2020. while there is a greater buzz around inclusive works, it is still largely being produced outside mainstream spaces ... Jacaranda Books have shown dynamism despite limited resources
  3. "Valerie Brandes, founder of Jacaranda Books, speaks at St Hilda's Gender Equality Festival". talks.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2019. She left Profile Books to set up Jacaranda Books Art Music in 2012 and is also on the committee for Fiction Uncovered
  4. Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd United Kingdom issuu.com, "...it is our mission to create a space for lesser known, diverse voices to be seen and heard by new readers.", accessed 24 January 2019
  5. "Women publishers bringing back diversity". spreadtheword.org.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2019. ... hopes to honour and continue the tradition of black publishers who came before them, particularly renown figures such as Margaret Busby and Verna Wilkins
  6. Claire Squires. Publishing’s diversity deficit (PDF). University of Leicester. Retrieved 6 February 2019. publishing had a homogenised white, middle-class and even Oxbridge-dominated workforce
  7. "BAME and shame: How non-white writers are shunned by the books industry". BBC. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2020. The writer Irenosen Okojie, whose short story collection Speak Gigantular will be out this June (2016), comments that “it’s encouraging to see publishers like Darf, who publish Arabic works in translation, and Jacaranda Books and Influx Press, who are actively looking to publish writers of colour.”
  8. Caeless, Kit. "Inside the UK's most radical indie publishers Part one: Jacaranda Books". huckmag.com. Retrieved 4 January 2020. with its focus on chasing trends and imitating previous successes, mainstream publishing is fundamentally risk-averse
  9. "UK publishing industry remains 90% white". The Guardian. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  10. "Jacaranda Books to publish 20 authors by 2020". voice-online.co.uk. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020. JACARANDA BOOKS, in partnership with Words of Colour Productions, has announced a new initiative to publish 20 black British writers in the year 2020
  11. "Diversity survey of the publishing workforce 2019". www.publishers.org.uk. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  12. In 2018, the imprint officially launched with four exciting debuts Sparking the Conversation littlebrown.co.uk, accessed 28 July 2020
  13. "Dialogue Books signs 'fearless' Irenosen Okojie". The Bookseller. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020. publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove said had partly inspired the new inclusive imprint
  14. Cornerstone- #Merky Books The imprint launched with Stormzy’s first book, Rise Up, in autumn 2018 penguin.co.uk, accessed 28 July 2020
  15. "Adimora returns to HarperCollins in new diversity role". The Bookseller. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020. Adimora, who has been named audience development manager, diversity & inclusion, starts on 10th February
  16. "Jacaranda reveals plans to publish 20 black British writers in 2020". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  17. "London Library announces partnership to promote black British writers with aim to become literary home of a new generation of writers". Evening Standard. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  18. "Foyles joins forces with Jacaranda to celebrate black British writers". The Bookseller. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  19. "BRITISH BOOK AWARDS: AGENDA-SETTING INDEPENDENTS JACARANDA BOOKS WIN SECOND ANNUAL SMALL PRESS OF THE YEAR AWARD". fmcm.co.uk. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  20. "British Book Awards Small Press winners revealed". The Bookseller. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  21. "'There's nothing like this out there': A Quick Ting On launches young black authors". The Guardian. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  22. ,"#Merky Books launches pocket-sized 'How To...' series". The Bookseller. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  23. "CRISIS FUNDING FOR INCLUSIVE PUBLISHERS". www.crowdfunder.co.uk. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  24. "Donations to inclusive publishers' appeal leap after George Floyd killing". The Guardian. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  25. Valerie Brandes: Why diverse literature is important for society to tackle racism Youtube/5 News, accessed 28 July 2020
  26. Jazzmine Breary, "Let’s not forget", in Writing the Future: Black and Asian Writers and Publishers in the UK Market Place, Spread the Word, April 2013, p. 30.
  27. Writing the Future: Black and Asian Authors Publishers in the Market Place- Special Feature www.spreadtheword.org.uk, accessed 8 September 2020
  28. @YMWAwards (1 December 2018). "Jazzmine Breary presenting the Young Muslim Writers Awards 2018" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 July 2020 – via Twitter.
  29. "RISING STARS 2020". The Bookseller. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  30. "Jacaranda founder named on 'influential black Briton' list". The Bookseller. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  31. "Brandes honoured as 'influential black Briton' for second year". The Bookseller. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  32. "Who are the influential Black Britons honoured in Powerlist 2019?". melanmag.com. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  33. "Meghan Markle in top 100 on powerlist of black britons". The Guardian. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  34. "Abraha joins Jacaranda in newly created role". The Bookseller. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  35. "RISING STARS 2019". The Bookseller. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
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