World Book Night 2016 officially kicked off yesterday in the U.K. and Ireland with the Reading Agency announcing the 15 titles to be given away next April 23. The list includes crime, poetry, nonfiction, Quick Reads, YA, historical fiction and fiction in translation (You can check out the WBN 2016 titles here), but a lack of diversity among the writers featured has stirred controversy.
After the list was announced, author Nikesh Shukla wrote in the Bookseller that even though WBN is "wonderfully charitable way of spreading your love of reading with friends and strangers alike," he had concerns about the selections: "Much as World Book Night has bravely decided to diversify the types of books offered for its lists by including fiction, nonfiction, genre and translated works, it seems to have left off any Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) writers in 2016. Which is, in my eyes, a sadly wasted opportunity to be truly diverse." He also suggested a list of books that might be included in the future.
This morning, WBN project manager Rose Goddard responded that it was a "great shame, and with huge regret... that we weren't able to include any works by BAME authors this year." Noting that the "curation of the final books is not simply a question of choosing freely from publishers' lists; publishers submit titles for the list and financially support the printing of the titles selected and the programme overall," Goddard said, "Each year we strive to strike a balance across the list. This year, despite our best efforts, we have not been successful in respect of BAME writers."
She added: "We will use this year's experience and feedback to build support to help shape World Book Night lists of the future; they should and can be a home to diverse, wonderful and brilliant books by authors from all walks of life. Let's keep talking and work together to help make this happen."
