Bookmark: A little blog with big ideas

Going back to the early nineties, I remember noting (with first surprise and then increasing frustration) the absence of disabled characters in the many children's books I was sent for review. 

This subject soon became a major preoccupation - some would say obsession. I started to build up a collection of titles which I felt 'did it well' and was disappointed to find that after several years, the designated bookshelf still looked pathetically bare. I thanked my stars for occasional gems like Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis, Michael Foreman's Seal Surfer and the growing Child's Play range. And I grumbled regularly to anyone who would listen.  

Thankfully, I have the weight of Booktrust behind me, which has enabled me to do a whole lot more than just whinge about this sorry state of affairs. 

Together, we've carried out consultative workshops with children (the Roald Dahl Foundation Quentin Blake Award project), set up a website about books and disability issues (www.bookmark.org.uk) and delivered a regular seminar for publishers, writers and illustrators at London Book Fair ('Equal Measures'), as well as being very involved in Scope's 'In the Picture' project. 

And now this blog marks the beginning of a fresh chapter of activity. 

The new idea started to form at our most recent London Book Fair event. The seminar panel, which comprised the likes of Simon Juden (then CEO of the Publishers Association), Nick Sharratt and Julia Donaldson, debated how best to help the children's book industry to change. They concluded that one of the ways forward could be the development of a new online resource of some kind, offering advice and information on including a disabled character accurately and appropriately. 

And so this blog has been born. But it's little blog with big ambitions - to change the face of children's books, to debate, to inform, to inspire, and to grow - perhaps evolving eventually into a mighty website or powerful wiki. However, it needs your help to thrive.

Each blog will explore a particular aspect of disability in books. I hope that this will be useful in itself, but even more so what will follow - the 'comments' section. This will be where we can then collect the thoughts, ideas, questions and experiences of those who have taken the time to read the blog and share their own expertise. And that is where you come in.

At least I hope so. If not, I am going to get pretty lonely in here.

Through the blog, we will start building up a bank of ideas and information about exactly how books might become more inclusive. For example, if you are a writer, illustrator or publisher, you can ask questions to help you in your work. Or if you have already included a disabled character, perhaps you would share your experience. Or maybe you have specialist expertise which could help the book world to develop the confidence and knowledge it needs in a particular aspect of disability.

I am quite sure that together we can find numerous innovative and workable ways to help children's books to include more disabled characters. We can also highlight examples of great practice and we can tackle some of the fears the book world may have about of stereotyping, 'getting it wrong' or appearing to be 'too PC'.

And what better time to start all this than now - during the newly launched UK Disability History Month? Taking place from 22 November to 22 December, Disability History Month is all about encouraging us to celebrate the lives of disabled people, but also to challenge disablism and promote equality.

Because equality is all we are really trying to seek. Disabled people should be naturally and positively included in the landscape of children's books, just like everyone else.

Over the coming months, this blog will look at everything from all the 'obvious' forms of disability to the 'invisible' impairments and use of language and terminology. 

So please join me. Another conclusion of the seminar was that this campaign needs the support of key champions (writers, illustrators, publishers, disability specialists, book enthusiasts, teachers, librarians, book sellers), committed to making this happen. So sign up now to be a part of this - and to be notified every time a new blog appears with a new subject for debate. 

I look forward to kicking things off with the first discussion topic next week.