Last night the Butler Children’s Literature Center was thrilled to host Indian born British author, Chitra Soundar, for a discussion about diversity in publishing, the writing process, and sharing stories with young people.
In a presentation titled Diverse Yet Unique: Confessions of a Global Author, Chitra shared her background in publishing and the differences she has encountered with publishers in India, the United Kingdom, and the US markets; her efforts to promote diversity in the children’s book publishing; her writing process and how she builds and researchers her stories; and how she goes about developing connections with readers, other writers, and publishers alike. It was interesting, yet disheartening, to learn that the UK publishing industry struggles with diversity issues even more than we do here. But as we are seeing in the US, the UK is also experiencing a growing number of authors, librarians, and supporters lending their voices (and social media feeds) to the movement toward more diversity in content and diversity in authors. Chitra recognized We Need Diverse Books and the inspiration the organization has provided to create a similar UK group to spark conversation and change.
After her presentation, Chitra kindly answered our numerous questions, filling in details about why she loves working with young people, who she follows for diverse book resources, and how she moves from her long, long, long list of ideas to a finished product like the newly published You’re Safe With Me (Lantana, 2018). She also gave us a sneak peek at future books in the series (keep your eyes peeled—they look and sound wonderful!).
Thanks to all that attended for your curiosity and thoughtful questions. It is always lovely to spend an evening in conversation with those that love children’s books like we do!
Feel free to stop by the Butler Center to see the new additions to our signed books collection or find Chitra Soundar on your own at www.chitrasoundar.com
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