Penguin Books hasjoined forces withto support schools in making the teaching and learning of English literature more inclusive by shining a light on barriers preventing more books by black, Asian and minority ethnic writers from being taught in the classroom.
The move comes afterresearch published earlier this yearfound that only 1per cent of GCSE students in England studieda book by an author of colour and only 7 per centstudied a book by a woman -of that 0.1 per centbeing a book by a woman of colour.
Improving diversity in English: The Creative Student Prize
Responding to the research, Penguin Lit in Colour has also launched the inauguralCreative Student Prize, prompting young people to explore their relationship with books and literature.
The competition is open to all young people aged 14-18 across the UK and Ireland, and the prize invites applicants to respond creatively to the question: “What place do books have in your world?”
Keen to encourage students to channel their energy in a format that suits them, Lit in Colour is offering a variety of submission categories: essay, short story, poem, video, illustration andartwork.
The prizes
In partnership with Adobe, the ultimate prize is a free MacBook Air, complete with a year-long subscription to Adobesuite. Runners-up will receive Beats by Dre headphones, and a Penguin audiobook package. Ten finalists will have their responses published on the Lit in Colour website.
The deadline is17 September 2021 andLit in Colour has created a for teachers interested in encouraging their students to participate before the end of term. For more information, visit the competition .
