Report finds that books with main characters from minority ethnicities or who are disabled or neurodivergent are written by those who do not share the protagonist’s identity

More than half of children’s books with marginalised main characters are by writers and illustrators who do not share their protagonist’s identity, according to a new study.

The Excluded Voices report, published by charity Inclusive Books for Children (IBC), identified 568 children’s books published in the UK from 2014 to 2023 that contain main characters from “minoritised” ethnicities or who are disabled or neurodivergent.