Lit In Colour for Penguin - Best Purpose Driven Campaign Winner - Forster Communications - The Independent Agency Awards 2022

Campaign Summary:

Fewer than 1% of young people in England study a book by a Black, Asian or minority ethnic author at GCSE. This does not represent the rich diversity of contemporary publishing or the makeup of our society, with 34% of school-age students identifying as Black, Asian or minority ethnic.

Lit in Colour is a partnership between publisher Penguin and race equality think-tank The Runnymede Trust aiming to make the English literature curriculum more inclusive. Central to the campaign was research looking at the current state of play in English literature education, making practical recommendations and highlighting the urgent need for change.

The campaign is a long-term project building a national conversation about why books create belonging and the lack of representation in English lessons. Since launch it has received a huge amount of news coverage and was shared far and wide on social media.

More importantly, Lit in Colour has provided practical support for schools, including free books, teaching resources and training. Penguin has acted as a convener, bringing together organisations across the education and publishing sectors, to create a holistic, sustainable and strategic approach. And it’s working;

- A partnership with Pearson has reached 12,000 students – doubling the number of students studying a book by a writer of colour at GCSE overnight
It generated interest from policy-makers, leading to meetings with representatives from the - DfE, No10, OFSTED and the Welsh Gov