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The long haul

04.09.08 Caroline Horn

Things have changed for Tamarind Press founder Verna Wilkins. While still an independent publisher, she would scrutinise her sales figures at each year end to work out how many titles she could publish the following year. Often it would just be three or four books.

Following the acquisition of her company—a specialist in children's books with black and multicultural themes—by Random House in 2007, however, she can now guarantee 10 new Tamarind titles a year.

The publisher's first list under the Random House banner launches this month, in time for Black History Month in October. Tamarind is one of only a handful of publishers in the UK to focus on multicultural titles, its output ranging from picture books to its Black Star biography series for teenagers.

When Wilkins started Tamarind in 1987, "multiculturalism" had just been invented, she says. While change was on the horizon, she felt that it wasn't always heading in the right direction: "There was a lot of very bad material coming into the market." She points to stereotypical stories where black children were included in books but as the friend of a white child, and to the absence of black characters on the covers.

"If you had a black face on a cover, people thought it wouldn't sell. So I had to create the demand for those books." She knew it was going to be "a long haul", but wryly adds: "Did I know it was going to take 20 years to make an impression? No."

Positive experiences
Wilkins grew up in the Caribbean and her own childhood reading about snow, Goldilocks and daffodils made her question what was being published for children like herself. When her own children faced the same alienating experience, she decided she had to do something about it.
Schools and libraries helped inform Tamarind's output and the character of the books, many of which she has written herself. "Teachers told me they wanted ordinary books with ordinary children doing ordinary things." Tamarind therefore publishes titles about the everyday: feeding the ducks, birthdays and the tooth fairy—who, in Tamarind's case, is black and "drop-dead gorgeous", chuckles Wilkins.

There is also "Black Stars", which showcases successful black adults. Tamarind began to publish these after Wilkins became exasperated at the material she was sent by aspiring authors whose stories included black characters. "Invariably they were about bullying and discrimination, but Tamarind is about everyday positive experiences."

Wilkins brought the same approach to a book about Stephen Lawrence, who was killed in 1993 in a racially motivated attack. "There were acres and acres written about his death but no one had written about the child and the person who we had lost," she explains. When Lawrence's mother approached her to write a book about him, she agreed to write his life story as a celebration of the boy himself.

Publishing has "moved on" in the 20 years Tamarind has been around, but there is still some way to go, says Wilkins, particularly in the retail scene. She is used to looking for alternative outlets for her books, which struggle to find space in traditional outlets. Two years ago, she started to sell her books at the Africa Hair and Body Show in north London. "People say ‘black people don't buy books', but that's crazy—it's wrong. We sold about £1,500 of books to people who didn't go there to buy books.

"There were all these ‘yummy mummies' buying hair and beauty products but they stopped to look at our stand because we had this whole display of books with black faces on the covers. And you should have seen their children's faces. They have not seen that kind of display in shops, school or the library," she explains. "And that," she adds, "is why I am still doing this."

Bolder images
Tamarind's books to date have used very realistic images of black children, although as the company's confidence has developed, it has begun to branch out into different styles and bolder graphics. This is what Random House will support as the list develops, says Wilkins.

She points to one of the new titles, Edel Wignell's Big Eyes, Scary Voice, about children exploring in a park with their mum at sunset. "It is about a child having an adventure and being given the freedom to explore. That is a message for any child and there is no reason why any mum shouldn't pick up this book for their children, white or black."

Wilkins admits that there have been difficult years in developing her business and she must be relieved to have the backing of a larger corporate body. However, one wonders how easily she will relax into corporate life. A thinly-veiled impatience with endless number-crunching and meetings suggest it won't come easily. She feels, however, that it is time for Tamarind to grow and to develop into new areas.

Having established its reputation, Tamarind is ready to focus more on other cultures, including South-east Asia, and to develop more books 
for the fast-growing dual-heritage market.

Wilkins also believes it is time to grow the publisher's high street presence and wants to see the books become an ordinary part of trade retail outlets.

"If you walk past the chains' display windows," she says, "how many books with black faces will you see on the cover? It's a growing market and the retail trade is losing out."

Caroline Horn In Depth Tamarind trade profile

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