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While we can all agree that increased representation of marginalised groups in literature is important, it can be hard to ascertain just how many publishers and books are actually doing this. Thus, it was encouraging to hear at this year’s Bookseller Children’s Conference that disability representation will be quantifiably monitored for the first time.

Following the success and usefulness of the CLPE’s ‘Reflecting Realities’ reports – which have been published annually since 2018 and track ethnic minority representation in UK children’s literature – Beth Cox and Alex Strick announced that their project, tentatively titled ‘Disabled Realities’, has secured a first round of funding from Arts Council England.

Cox and Strick expect the report to touch on various types of disability, including profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), chronic illness, physical disabilities, neurodivergence, visible differences, mental health issues, and visual impairments. It will be conducted by a team of experts made up of individuals with lived experience of disability, as well as people within the publishing industry, allowing for a range of perspectives.

Importantly, as in the CLPE’s Reflecting Realities reports, Disabled Realities will be checking both the quantity and quality of this representation. People with disabilities have long been portrayed as villains or recipients of pity in books, or have otherwise been subject to the increasingly popular ‘overcoming adversity’ trope, among others. Such portrayals are unrealistic and damaging, so monitoring the quality of this representation will hopefully guide publishers towards producing accurate representations of people’s experiences of disability.  

In addition, it has been shown that reading stories of people with disabilities enhances children’s understanding of the problems they face, and it allows them to see characters with disabilities ‘as full and complex beings, similar in many ways to themselves’.1 This too highlights the need for realistic representations of disability in children’s literature, emphasising the importance of this project.

In the first phase of the project, Disabled Realities will organise a steering group, who will determine how disability representation might best be analysed and which criteria should be measured. This information will then be presented at the London Book Fair on 12 March 2024, where attendees will be invited to provide additional insights on the direction of the report.  

Additional funding will be required for subsequent phases of the project – that is, for conducting the study itself. However, the success and relevance of the Reflecting Realities reports, as well as the pressing need to further centre underrepresented groups in children’s literature, highlights the necessity for projects such as this. Pending the successful completion of phase 1, it is hopeful that further funding will be obtained.

Cox and Strick are actively looking for people – especially those with lived experiences of disability and knowledge of the publishing industry – to get involved in the project. Those interested in following along or participating can find the project on Instagram @disabledrealities, or can email Cox at beth@bethcox.co.uk.

1Adomat, D.S. 2014. Exploring Issues of Disability in Children’s Literature Discussions. Disability Studies Quarterly, 34(3). Available at: https://dsq-sds.org/index.php/dsq/article/view/3865/3644