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 the extent to which British authors and illustrators from marginalised communities have had input into the creation of Own Voice stories for children aged 1 to 9, including books for babies and toddlers, picture books and young children’s fiction.
This work builds on 2024's inaugural Excluded Voices report, which investigated Own Voice output over the preceding decade. The 2025 report focuses on more recent trends, updated for the latest figures, and contextualises the findings with industry data from NielsenIQ BookData.
Download the latest report today
Read and download the full Excluded Voices 2025 report
Key findings from the report
- 2721 books were published in 2024 in the UK for ages 1–9
- 161 books (5.9%) had marginalised neurodivergent, disabled or minoritised ethnic main characters, an increase of 8.1% from 2023. Less than half of those (79 books) were by British Own Voice authors and illustrators
- 51 books (1.9%) had a Black main character, down 21.5% from 2023
- 35 books (1.3%) has a South Asian main character, when ~12.5% of children in England have South Asian heritage.
- 21 books (0.8%) had an ESEA main character, when ~2.6% of children in England have ESEA heritage
- Of 577 books for babies and toddlers aged 1–3, just 16 books (2.8%) had a main character from a marginalised group, and just 2 of those were written or illustrated by a British Own Voice author or illustrator
Need help accessing this report?
If you need any help accessing this report or have any questions, please contact us at: contact@inclusivebooksforchildren.org