Take action
Every week, we will be updating this page to reflect the weekly actions the book community can take to support the fight for equity in the publishing industry.
How to participate | Send the latest email
How to participate
1. Sign the petitions
There is strength in numbers. Sign the petitions and share the links with your community. By doing so, we will demonstrate the sheer necessity of these demands.
2. Email the Big 5 demanding that they publicly release workplace demographic data, along with statements of commitment to diversity and inclusion that include short and long-term action plans
Find the full text below, or use the link to auto draft the email. Make sure to customize the subject line and the signature.
3. Share the graphics on social media
Download the latest social media graphics to share on your own account*. In the caption, we encourage you to share why this change is important to you, to tag other content creators to participate, and to call on your own community to join you in signing. Please remember to include alt text/image IDs in your post to ensure they are accessible for all individuals.
Additionally, please be sure to make the images full size before sharing by using the “expand” arrows on the bottom of the drafting page.
*If you do share, be sure to tag @DearPublishers.
3. Let us know how you can help
We all have something different to offer. Fill out the contact form to let us know what and how you’d like to be involved.
If you have worked with individuals in the publishing industry, whether bookstores, publishing houses, book subscription services, or any other organization, we encourage you to email them the demands, along with this webpage and the petition. Spread the word.
Send an email
Use this template to contact the Big 5
Dear [XX],
I am in solidarity with Dear Publishers, and we demand that publishing companies release workplace demographic data, along with statements of commitment to diversity and inclusion that include short and long-term action plans.
In light of recent publishing announcements, including, but not limited to, Simon & Schuster’s book deal with Mice Pence, Kellyanne Conway, and the Post Hill Press deal with Jonathan Mattingly, it is clear that the antiracism pledges publishers took less than a year ago were largely performative. Time and time again, the publishing industry has chosen profit over accountability.
Therefore, for the sake of publishing employees, authors, and all readers, we must hold the industry accountable.
And if asking the publishing industry to simply uphold their pledges to antiracism is not enough to make you understand the purpose of diversity, equity, and inclusion, then perhaps a financial benefit will.
A recent McKinsey report found that “companies in the top quartile of gender diversity on executive teams were 25 percent more likely to experience above-average profitability than peer companies.” Similarly, they found the same with cultural and ethnic diversity. “We found that companies in the top quartile outperformed those in the fourth by 36 percent in profitability.”
But, it’s incredibly important to note that the report also found that “hiring diverse talent isn’t enough - it’s the experience they have in the workplace that shapes whether they remain and thrive.” You must look beyond a so-called “diversity quota” and hire people of color, LGBTQ+ people, neurodivergent people, and more across all levels of your company. You must actively work to create an environment where all employees can succeed.
In addition to releasing workplace demographic data, we demand that you create and publicly share short and long-term action plans to ensure an inclusive, equitable environment for employees at all stages of their career.
Some examples of workplace demographic databases might include:
These databases are by no means definitive nor exhaustive, but can serve as starting points.
We demand equity in publishing. We demand that publishers are transparent and authentic in their antiracism efforts.
Do better. Be better.
Signed,
[XX]