The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) has released the 7^th annual Reflecting Realities Survey of Ethnic Representation within UK Children’s Literature showing that 17% of children’s books published in 2023 feature a racially minoritised character. While this demonstrates a significant increase from the 4% first reported in 2017, it is the first year that the survey has shown an annual decrease, down from 30% in 2022. This decrease is also echoed in the percentage of racially minoritised main characters, down 7 percentage points from 14% in 2022 to 7% in 2023.  

Using the detailed methodology established in the first year of this work, the Reflecting Realities survey reports on racially minoritized characters included in fiction, non-fiction and picturebooks aimed at readers age 3-11.

For the first time this year, minoritised presence in fiction is down year on year - from 24% in 2022 to 11% in 2023. Fiction is also the text type which has seen much slower growth than non-fiction and picturebooks and these figures represent a significant widening of the gap. This is echoed in the presence reported in non-fiction - down from 30% in 2022 to 22% in 2023. This marks the second drop in a row after a sustained increase in the first five reports.

Picturebooks continue to have the highest proportion of presence across the three text types. Despite reporting a decrease of 9 percentage points in 2022 to 52% this cycle has seen a slight increase with 55% of picturebook titles published in 2023 featuring characters from racially minoritised backgrounds within their casts.

Farrah Serroukh Executive Director of Research and Development, CLPE said: ‘The ethical imperative should go without saying. However, beyond this the principle of inclusion simply makes books better. Through every annual review of the last seven years we have had the privilege of being treated to stories, characters, writing and worlds that have elevated the literary landscape, enriched the culture and transformed reading experiences. This can only be a good thing for the publishing industry and with the appropriate investment can have positive commercial and reputational implications. We encourage the industry to take the lessons learned and remain steadfast in their commitment to reflecting realities and serving their readership.’

Rebecca Eaves, Chief Executive, CLPE said: ‘A mere 12 months ago, we could be forgiven for looking at the results of the 6th Reflecting Realities report and congratulating ourselves on a collective job well done. These most recent, more sobering results, particularly after a summer of racially motivated riots, remind us that the job is far from done. It's more important than ever that all children can see themselves and those that look like them in the books they read. CLPE, with ongoing funding from the Arts Council England, will continue to support and champion our partners across the publishing industry in their commitment to make this a reality.’

The annual CLPE survey was launched in 2018 and has been funded by Arts Council England since its inception. The core aim of the survey is to determine the extent and quality of representation of racially minoritised characters featured within picturebooks, fiction and non-fiction for ages 3-11 published in the UK. Taken together, the 7 years of reporting provide an invaluable standard benchmark and guidance for the industry to evaluate output.