In November 2024, Jamie Oliver hit the headlines. This wasn’t because of his new cookbook and his accompanying TV series, but because of a children’s adventure book he wrote. Billy and the Epic Escape, which follows the titular character and his three friends as they uncover the mystery of a “mysterious red lady”, was withdrawn from sale by publishers Penguin Random House following backlash from Indigenous Australian literary figures over the depiction of their culture.
To elaborate, there is a subplot where an Indigenous girl called Ruby is abducted by the big bad, and can read minds, which she explains as “the indigenous way”. Additionally, although she is Arrernte and from Alice Springs, she uses terms that come from the Gamilaraay people of Queensland and New South Wales. Said literary figures criticised Billy and the Epic Escape for trivialising and misrepresenting Aboriginal Australian cultures and history, particularly regarding the name of the chapter “To Steal a Child”. This brought to mind the Stolen Generations era, where Australian authorities took Aboriginal children from their families and communities to integrate them into white society.
What also added to the controversy was that neither Oliver nor Penguin Random House sought input from Indigenous consultants or organisations prior to publishing the book. While Oliver is not the first author to write about or incorporate cultures other than his own into their works, this incident poses the question of whether writing about cultures other than one’s own is ever acceptable, even with research and consultation with members of the culture in question. It will also investigate how publishers and similar companies can provide spaces for marginalised ethnic groups to share authentic depictions of their cultures in their work, and whether sticking to one’s culture applies just to white people writing about people of colour, or POC writing about each other’s cultures.
Representation of characters of colour and authors of colour in publishing
While the last decade or so has seen more books by authors of colour across genres and age ranges, covering various cultures and topics, there is still a way to go regarding representation in literature and publishing.
According to The Guardian, over half of children’s books (53%) released between 2014-23 with a Black or brown leading character (ambiguous or unambiguous) were written by white authors and illustrated by white illustrators. With regard to baby and toddler books published in the same timeframe, only 3% of works with racially and culturally diverse characters were written by writers from marginalised groups. The fact that white writers are creating stories with Black and brown leading characters gives off a sense of performative action, where they are adding diversity to a work without consideration for the culture and lived experiences of people from other backgrounds. It takes away opportunities from authors of colour to tell their stories.
Additionally, 72.5% of people involved in the publishing industry in 2024 were white, according to Lee and Low Books Diversity Baseline survey, while the figure for those of Black backgrounds, for instance, is at 5.3%. Since Black people and other people of colour do not see themselves hugely represented, if at all, they are either discouraged from pursuing a career in this field, or opt to publish independently.
One of these writers is Selina Brown, who initially self-published her work before being offered a two-book deal from Penguin. In light of her struggles in getting published, she founded the Black British Book Festival in 2021, which has played host to the likes of politician Diane Abbott and ITV News journalist and Loose Women panellist Charlene White. Penguin has shown awareness of the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in who they employ and publish through means such as their WriteNow program, which seeks out work from under-represented and marginalised backgrounds – 42% of its participants were people of colour. It can be seen that the publishing industry needs to make more progress if they are to truly represent people of colour, their lives, stories and experiences.
When and where has this been done well?
Aldis Hodge plays Alex Cross in the Prime Video series Cross
(Credit: Prime Video)
Although it is reasonable to argue that white people should not write works where the leading character is a person of colour, there is also the claim that they should have the right to do this as creators, as long as they do their research and depict their characters in a sensitive, non-stereotypical manner.
White American author James Patterson has a Black American main character in his Alex Cross series of detective/crime/mystery novels, which serves as the basis of the 2024 Amazon Prime Video series Cross, starring Aldis Hodge. He gained inspiration for the character from a Black family he lived close to when he was growing up in Newburgh, New York. These experiences influenced his depiction of Cross as a nuanced, intelligent detective who countered stereotypical depictions of Black Americans in the media.
However, when producers initially offered to adapt the books for a seven-figure sum, they wanted to whitewash Alex Cross. Despite being short of funds at the time, Patterson stuck to his guns and said no, telling the producers what they could do with themselves. Eventually, we got the films Kiss the Girl (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001), starring Morgan Freeman, followed by the Tyler Perry-led Alex Cross film in 2021, and now the Amazon series. This case study can be used as an argument for someone writing about another culture. Since Patterson was drawing from his own background and experiences of Black people to write the books, one can argue that authors should have the right to write works where the lead does not share their race or culture, if they have experience with the community they are writing about.
Who else has received criticism for this besides Oliver?
Writing about another culture or ethnic group that the author doesn’t belong to doesn’t just hold the risk of misrepresenting and stereotyping the group in question, it also brings up issues of revisionism and sanitisation of history, as well as the ‘white saviour’ or ‘white man’s burden’ trope. An example of this is the book The Help by white author Kathryn Stockett and its 2011 film adaptation – directed by Tate Taylor, who is also white. In the story, an aspiring white writer, Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan, seeks to write a book about the experiences of Black American household workers Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson.
Both the film and book were criticised for presenting the plights of the Black characters (and by extension, the community and civil rights movement) through the eyes of the white character and not covering their challenges in depth. Even Viola Davis, who played Aibileen, felt the same way, especially since she saw her mother and grandmother in the characters of Aibileen and Minny. She said that the movie didn’t show the truth of how the characters really felt about working for white families in 1960s Mississippi.
The Help, and its film adaptation, became controversial due to the 'white saviour' trope
(Credit: Disney)
What can readers and aspiring authors do?
If you’re a reader, and are seeking something new to read, or want to get back into reading, support authors of colour across all genres. Whether you are buying their books, borrowing them from the library, or following them on social media, seek out these authors and leave good reviews and comments. Good suggestions include Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn – about a Black American girl who joins a secret society formed around King Arthur and his knights – and Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow and Heavenly Tyrant, set in a sci-fi reimagining of Imperial China. There’s also the Nigerian-Welsh author Natasha Bowen, whose book Skin of the Sea is inspired by Yoruba mythology.
For active and aspiring authors, it goes without saying that the cast of characters in a work – or a series of works, if you’re ambitious – should feature characters of opposite and various cultures, genders, classes, and walks of life to your own. While it is one thing to have side or supporting characters of colour as a white writer, for instance, it is another to have a leading character of colour in a story. It helps if you have friends or relatives who serve as the inspiration or foundation for characters outside your race or ethnicity, and can act as beta readers to informally consult on the depictions of their culture.
However, publishers, charities and literary organisations should also ensure that there are opportunities for authors of colour to publish their works. This could be through bursaries, competitions or mentorships - these will help them get a foot in the door and enable them to share authentic stories of race and culture with a wide audience. Furthermore, people of colour can also create their own events and organisations to help and support their communities.
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