Gatekeeping and Trade Publishing

Systemic Barriers That Exclude BIPOC Authors From Literary Awards and the Proposed Solutions to Evoke Change Devyn Yan Radke, MA, Communications Manager, WildBlue Press

Gatekeeping in Publishing Tina Donnelly, MPS, Managing Editorial Assistant, Penguin Random House

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Systemic Barriers That Exclude BIPOC Authors From Literary Awards and the Proposed Solutions to Evoke Change Devyn Yan Radke, MA, Communications Manager, WildBlue Press

This research aims to 1) provide an in-depth analysis of the National Book Award (NBA), with a focus on Lisa Lucas, her commitment to diversity, and how it has impacted the awards, 2) identify the systemic barriers BIPOC authors may experience that are setbacks from being recognized in literary awards, and 3) the importance of diversity in book publishing professional executive positions.

Devyn Yan Radke is a book publishing professional in the Portland, OR area. In 2019, she earned a BA in Literature and Writing from Portland State University. She returned to the same university to pursue an MA in Book Publishing and graduated in June of 2022. Devyn is currently the Communications Manager at WildBlue Press.

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Gatekeeping in Publishing Tina Donnelly, MPS, Managing Editorial Assistant, Penguin Random House

This presentation explores the practice of gatekeeping in the publishing industry and the various parameters currently in place that prevent the field from being more diverse. An expanded edition of my capstone project for the Ethics in Publishing course, it includes notes from an interview with Kim Shariff, the Director of Strategy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Penguin Random House, who is working on dismantling the roadblocks that keep the company from having a more diverse workforce. This presentation examines not only the current gatekeeping practices but also their effect on the industry and the literary scene, as well as what we can do as publishing professionals to rectify these outcomes.

Tina Donnelly, MPS, is a Managing Editorial Assistant at Penguin Random House, where she assists department heads with all aspects of audiobook production and record keeping, as well as supports the Managing Editorial team on audio projects and metadata maintenance. She is a 2022 graduate of the MPS in Publishing program at George Washington University.