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Frequently Asked Questions

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Questions

Registration​

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Eligibility

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Submissions

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Reading Schemes

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General

Answers

Registration​

Why do publishers need to register?
  • To ensure all relevant publishers have registered in advance and give us time to check with any who haven’t registered.

  • We need to collect some key information about your publishing output in general - the registration form means that this doesn’t have to be repeated on each book submission form.

  • As part of registration we ask publishers to indicate the approximate number of books that they hope to submit. This means we can plan more effectively for the review process.

Do publishers need to register if they have no books to submit this year?
  • Yes. If you publish fiction, non-fiction, picture books or reading schemes for 3-11 year olds, please still register.

  • This enables to include your figures about books published for this age group in 2024 in the figures for the overall output.

  • Registering also means we have the correct contact details for future years.

  • Registering also means that we know that you have seen and responded to the registration invitation and won't continue to follow up with you.

How do publishers register?
  • Registration involves completing a simple Google form.

  • You will need the following information to complete the form:

    • Name and email of the key contact person for the project.

    • Number of books (within the relevant age and format) published in 2024 overall, and featuring human, animals and inanimate objects as lead characters.

    • How many books you expect to submit for the 2024 survey.

  • Full details are on the Submissions page.

  • Register via the Google form.

What happens if a publisher has missed the registration deadline?
  • There's some flexibility with dates and it's important that all eligible publishers are able to register.

  • We can work with you to support the process.

  • If you've missed the deadline, please look at the section on what to do in this situation on the submissions page or get in touch.

Eligibility

What books are eligible?
  • Summary of book eligibility criteria:

    • First published in the UK in 2024.

    • Aimed at children aged 3-11.

    • Classed as fiction, non-fiction, a picture book or part of a reading scheme.

    • Features any people/characters at any point in the book who are D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, face mental health challenges or have a visible difference.​

  • Read the full eligibility criteria.

Can publishers submit books where some or all of the characters are animals or inanimate objects?
  • If any of these characters are disabled, they are eligible for submission.

Can publishers submit books that only have characters wearing glasses and no other disabled characters?
  • If glasses ‘correct’ the character’s vision to the point that their ability to do day to day activities is not affected, they would not be classed as disabled and therefore not eligible for submission.

  • See more details on the notes section of the eligibility page.

Can publishers submit paperback books published in 2024 if they were published in hardback before then?
  • If a book was available in any format in the UK before 2024 then it is not eligible for submission.

Can publishers submit translated books?
  • If a book meets the eligibility criteria and was first published in the UK in 2024 then it is eligible for submission.

Can publishers submit poetry books?
  • No, in line with Reflecting Realities, a decision was made that there are too many variables in that medium to fit within the framework.

Can publishers submit board books?
  • If a board book is classified on Thema under ‘Interest Qualifiers’ as interest age/level 5AC (from circa 3 years) or above it is eligible for submission.

  • If a board book is classified only as interest age/level 5AB (for children c 0-36 months) it will not be eligible. 

  • Please class board books as picture books when submitting.

Are books available in the UK but published elsewhere eligible?
  • No, books must be published in the UK.

How does the project define who is disabled?
  • The project has aimed to align with the guidance of the 2010 Equality Act. 

  • For the purpose of this project, someone is disabled if they: 

    • have a long term physical or mental condition; 

    • have a significant visible difference;

    • are neurodivergent.

  • Full details can be found in the notes section of the eligibility page.

Submissions

  • From 1 December 2024, registered publishers will be invited to submit books using a submission form

  • Submissions close on 31 January 2025.

  • Full details can found on the submissions page.

  • Some publishers may find it useful to complete draft versions of the forms in Word so that it can be shared in-house to gather all the relevant information before completing the online form.

    • You can download a Word version of the form via this link.

    • Please only use this document as a draft and send all final submissions via the online form.

  • Ideally all publishers will manage to submit books by the deadline of 31 January.

  • There is some flexibility to allow us to follow up on missing submissions, but we do need time to prepare for the review process.

  • If you've missed the deadline, please get in touch so we can support you with the process.

  • Publishers will be asked to submit physical copies  (ideally 3 copies)as well as a virtual copy of each book.

    • Requesting different formats helps ensure that reviewing is accessible for everyone who will be part the review process.

    • We are happy to discuss alternative solutions with smaller publishers if submitting physical copies is a barrier.

  • The address for physical copies and process for submitting digital files will be confirmed in the new year and communicated to registered publishers. 

    • As you can imagine, there are some substantial storage implications involved, so please DO NOT email copies to our email address until we have asked you to do so, or informed you of an alternative way to submit digital files.

  • It should be the decision of book creators what information they choose to share as part of this research. 

  • The only way to ensure this and avoid issues with sharing sensitive information was to create a form for publishers to send to all book creators of submitted books.

  • There is more information regarding the decision and approach to this on the submissions page.

  • Information provided by book creators will offer Reflecting Disability insights into how lived experience and/or research impacts the representation of disabled people.

  • Discussions about book creators in the report will be in terms of overall trends rather than individual experiences.

  • We may also share general insights such as the balance of, for example, non-disabled, physically disabled, neurodivergent creators.

  • There is more information regarding how information will be used in Appendix 1 of our Privacy Statement. 

Reading Schemes

  • We know that for some children, books from reading schemes may be some of the only books they are exposed to. So for this reason it was agreed that it would be useful to try to include these. 

  • There is a limit to the number of books we can review within the current funding.

  • Until we have a rough idea of how many books will be submitted, we won’t know if we have capacity to include books from reading schemes.

  • We hope to have enough information to make a decision once all publishers have register for the study. However, we may need to wait until submissions close in January to make a final decision.

  • We will update all registered publishers in early 2025, if not before.

  • Publishers are welcome to delay submitting books from reading schemes until we can provide an update.

  • We may be able to use headline figures from the submissions to give insights into the overall quantity of representation.

  • There are other options for using this information which we will explore at a later date.

General

  • We liaise with CLPE who share valuable insights into conducting this type of research.

  • We’ve used some of the same eligibility criteria such as age range, genre and book format.

  • Aligning on criteria will ensure comparable data across the projects.

  • Both projects aim to provide valuable insights to help publishers continue to build on current representation.

  • For each book, reviewers will look at:

    • the type of representation

    • the prominence of the disabled character(s)

    • other facets of diversity

    • the context and the quality of representation across main, group and background casts.

  • Analysing the data and reporting the findings are currently dependent on securing funding for a ‘phase 3’. 

  • We are confident that we will be able to secure this, and envision the report being published in late 2025 or early 2026.

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