Excluded Voices report
Own Voice representation in the creation of UK children’s books
We are proud to present the second annual Excluded Voices report.
The report examines how much input British authors and illustrators from marginalised communities have had in the creation of Own Voice books, mainly stories, for children aged 1 to 9, including books for babies and toddlers, picture books and young children’s fiction.
This work builds our 2024 inaugural Excluded Voices report, which investigated Own Voice output over the preceding decade.
Updated with the latest figures, the 2025 report focuses on more recent trends, and findings are contextualised with industry NielsenIQ BookData.
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Discover the latest stats and insights in Excluded Voices 2025
Key stats from the report
In 2024...
- 2721 books were published in the UK for ages 1 to 9
- 161 books (5.9%) had marginalised neurodivergent, disabled or minoritised ethnic main characters, an increase of 8.1% from 2023. Fewer than half of those (79 books) were by British Own Voice authors and illustrators
- 51 books (1.9%) had Black main characters, down 21.5% from 2023
- 35 books (1.3%) had South Asian main characters, despite around 12.5% of nursery and primary school children in England being of South Asian heritage
- 21 books (0.8%) had East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) main characters, against approximately 2.6% of nursery and primary school children in England being of ESEA heritage
- Of 577 books for babies and toddlers aged 1 to 3, just 16 books (2.8%) had main characters from marginalised groups, and just 2 of those books were written or illustrated by a British Own Voice author or illustrator
Cover and interior illustrations © 2025 Joelle Avelino
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If you need any help accessing this report or have any questions, please contact us at: contact@inclusivebooksforchildren.org