Diverse Book Week

​You can hold a diverse book week anytime anywhere

Diversity
The fact of many different types of things or people being included in something: a range of different things or people.
Cambridge dictionary

Diverse books, carry stories and voices that we don't always hear but should, everyone will have their own ideas on what a diverse book is, but perhaps we could all agree that it's more likely to be the books you have to hunt for in independent books shops and libraries than the ones you already know about through the usual marketing and advertising.  Richard O'Neill

Aims
TO: Raise the awareness of diverse books in general.
For children and adults to be more aware of the diverse books and characters already available, and for publishers to be more aware of the need for more diverse books.


Objectives: For readers, and educators to be more aware of the diversity and variety of books already available and to identify the needs for more diverse books and in which areas. For publishers to seek out more diverse authors and support independent bookshops to offer a greater range of books.
For all to celebrate the diverse books we already have and to promote the case for more.

What can you do to celebrate diverse book week?

General
Tell people about the week.
Commit to read something different during the week.
Visit an independent book shop


Schools
Hold a diverse books assembly to explain why diverse books are so important.
Make sure your library and each class has a number of diverse books on display.
Do a diverse book audit to see how many diverse books you already have and do some research with children and teachers to see if there are any areas and subjects where you need more.
Ask children and parents/carers for recommendations.
Get children and adults to think about the kind of books that they would like to read but maybe haven’t even been written yet. What kind of characters and subjects they would like to see.
Have students create a poster to advertise ‘Diverse Book Week’
Choose a diverse book for every class to read throughout the week.
Get children to write a review of a diverse book
Ask students to try and create their own diverse character
Invite a diverse author into school
Study a favourite passage or illustration from a diverse book


Have a discussion about diverse books and the people who write them.
What does a diverse background mean?
Famous books from diverse authors did their background influence their writing and in what way?
Have any diverse books made a change to peoples lives?
Ask parents and carers about a diverse book they had or were read from when they were a child.

Libraries
Create a display of diverse books
Invite a diverse author in to the library to discuss their work
Promote the week through your social media channels
Organise a diverse book evening discussion.
What does a diverse background mean?
Famous books from diverse authors did their background influence their writing and in what way?
Ask library members for recommendations for current diverse books and those not written yet
Do an audit of the ratio of diverse books compared to the people who visit your library, does it match?

Bookshops
Create a display
Make a diverse book your book of the week
Promote diverse book week to your customers through social media and local press and media.
Hold a discussion about diverse books
What does a diverse background mean?