Comments on: Are we cultivating racism in young readers?

By: Maria Lokken » Are the publishers at Bloomsbury Racists?

Maria Lokken » Are the publishers at Bloomsbury Racists? — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:05:05 +0000

[…] African American teenager named Micah, yet the book cover featured a white girl. If you read my previous post you’ll understand more fully why the marketing ‘geniuses’ at Bloomsbury felt it was necessary […]

By: It’s All There in Black and White. « Adam Frayle Blog

It’s All There in Black and White. « Adam Frayle Blog — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:26:56 +0000

[…] “There’s a controversy brewing over a new Young Adult book about to be released in the US entitled “Liar.” The book, written by Australian author Justine Larbalestier is about a black teenager named Micah. However, the cover art, beautiful as it is, is of a white girl with long straight hair.” (full post here) […]

By: AF

AF — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:47:39 +0000

I agree with you entirely. The trouble is, on the face of it, with the publishing industry itself. They have created such a high cost, high volume industry that we are now at the stage where you might almost write and even get published a book on fishing, but they are likely to put a naked girl (probably white) on the front in order to have a hope of selling more than a few copies.

However, the fact is that, whatever the marketing guys feel they need to do, you don’t have a lot of choice but to accept it, or you won’t get published at all. It’s all very well doing the “decent” thing, but if your book remains solely on your computer, then it doesn’t mean a whole lot, does it?

Most of us wish it was different (well the decent people amongst us do), but it isn’t and it’s life, the education system and just people that are wrong, I guess. In the end, though, much as I don’t exactly love the mainstream publishing industry, I can’t find it in my heart to seriously blame them for doing what bitter experience has taught them works, or they’d be out of a job too.