Tamarind Books was a small independent British publisher specialising in picture books, fiction and non-fiction featuring black and Asian children and children with disabilities. It was founded by Verna Wilkins in 1987 with the mission of redressing the balance of diversity in children's publishing,[1] and in 2007 became an imprint of Random House Children's Books UK.
Tamarind Books was founded by Grenada-born[2]Verna Wilkins in 1987 after her five-year-old son came home from school with a "This is Me" booklet in which he had coloured himself pink. When she offered him a brown crayon to use instead, he refused, saying that the image he had drawn of himself had to have pink skin because it was for a book.[3][4] When she researched the matter further, she arrived at the conclusion that her child and other children from the ethnic minorities were so under-represented in children's books that they were being denied an important stage in their learning, so she decided to start publishing books to meet that need.[5]
For twenty years, Wilkins ran Tamarind Books from her home, writing many of the books herself, working with the support of her family and a small group of friends and freelancers. New books were published only when there was enough money in the company bank account. In the early years, she sold the books herself.[6] Later, Tamarind books were distributed by commercial distributors.
In 2008, Tamarind Books was awarded the Decibel Cultural Diversity Award in the British Book Awards (Nibbies).[10]
In October 2009, Wilkins retired from publishing,[11] and a successor, Patsy Isles, was announced. In January 2011, a new team comprising editors from Random House (Ruth Knowles, Parul Bavishi, Joe Marriott and Sue Buswell) were brought in to run Tamarind, with Verna Wilkins acting as a consultant, with the patrons of Tamarind, alongside Wilkins, being Michael Rosen, Benjamin Zephaniah, Jamila Gavin and Meera Syal.[12][13]
The titles that were historically published under the Tamarind Books imprint are now part of the Puffin and Ladybird lists.[14]
^IPG (March 2007). . Independent Publishers Guild. Archived from the original on 13 May 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2013. IPG Diversity Award [...] Highly commended in this category was Tamarind Books, an independent that has specialised in multicultural children's books and titles for black children in particular for 20 years.
Verna Wilkins, "The Right To Be Seen", Patrick Hardy Lecture, 29 October 2008.
"Verna Wilkins on Tamarind Books Part 1", Random House Children's Publishers UK, 27 August 2013.
December 15, 2023
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Tamarind Books was a small independent British publisher specialising in picture books fiction and non fiction featuring black and Asian children and children with disabilities It was founded by Verna Wilkins in 1987 with the mission of redressing the balance of diversity in children s publishing 1 and in 2007 became an imprint of Random House Children s Books UK Tamarind BooksTamarind Books logoParent companyRandom HouseFounded1987 36 years ago 1987 FounderVerna WilkinsCountry of originUnited KingdomHeadquarters locationLondonPublication typesChildren s booksOfficial websitewww wbr tamarindbooks wbr co wbr uk Contents 1 History 1 1 Acquisition by Random House 2 Awards 3 References 4 External linksHistory edit nbsp Verna WilkinsTamarind Books was founded by Grenada born 2 Verna Wilkins in 1987 after her five year old son came home from school with a This is Me booklet in which he had coloured himself pink When she offered him a brown crayon to use instead he refused saying that the image he had drawn of himself had to have pink skin because it was for a book 3 4 When she researched the matter further she arrived at the conclusion that her child and other children from the ethnic minorities were so under represented in children s books that they were being denied an important stage in their learning so she decided to start publishing books to meet that need 5 For twenty years Wilkins ran Tamarind Books from her home writing many of the books herself working with the support of her family and a small group of friends and freelancers New books were published only when there was enough money in the company bank account In the early years she sold the books herself 6 Later Tamarind books were distributed by commercial distributors Two of the imprint s best known titles are The Life of Stephen Lawrence 2001 7 and Dave and The Tooth Fairy 1993 featuring a black tooth fairy Tamarind also specialises in biographies of black role models in the Black Stars series which includes biographies of Malorie Blackman Benjamin Zephaniah Rudolph Walker Baroness Scotland Chinwe Chukwuogo Roy David Grant and Samantha Tross 8 Acquisition by Random House edit In 2007 Tamarind Books was acquired by Random House Group Ltd and became an imprint of Random House Children s Books UK 9 In 2008 Tamarind Books was awarded the Decibel Cultural Diversity Award in the British Book Awards Nibbies 10 In October 2009 Wilkins retired from publishing 11 and a successor Patsy Isles was announced In January 2011 a new team comprising editors from Random House Ruth Knowles Parul Bavishi Joe Marriott and Sue Buswell were brought in to run Tamarind with Verna Wilkins acting as a consultant with the patrons of Tamarind alongside Wilkins being Michael Rosen Benjamin Zephaniah Jamila Gavin and Meera Syal 12 13 The titles that were historically published under the Tamarind Books imprint are now part of the Puffin and Ladybird lists 14 Awards edit2007 Tamarind Books Highly Commended at the Independent Publishers Guild IPG Awards in category IPG Diversity Award 15 2008 Tamarind Books wins Cultural Diversity Award at the Nibbies 16 17 10 References edit About Us Tamarind website Biography Verna Wilkins Government of Grenada 30 September 2011 Agnew Kate 7 October 2008 Imaginary worlds where everyone is the same colour The Guardian Article for BBIA Publishing News Archived 17 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine Tamarind Books Verna Wilkins talks to Michelle Brooks about Making her Mark on Children s books OHTV interview YouTube 24 August 2010 Shercliff Emma 18 August 2014 Books for the Masses Publishing Genre Fiction in Africa Africa Writes 13 July 2014 Africa in Words McGavin Harvey 20 April 2001 Life and death of a south London schoolboy TES Wilkins Verna 15 April 2008 Samantha Tross Surgeon Tamarind ISBN 978 1 870516 48 8 Random House acquires Tamarind The Bookseller 7 December 2007 a b Jones Philip 14 May 2008 Foyles and CCV pick up nibbies The Bookseller Retrieved 8 December 2023 Tamarind Publisher Verna Wilkins To Retire At RHCB Book2book 30 October 2009 Tamarind Announces New Patrons 6 December 2011 Williams Charlotte 9 January 2012 Tamarind more multicultural writing needed The Bookseller Retrieved 8 December 2023 Tamarind Books at Puffin IPG March 2007 Independent Publishing Awards The Pick of Independent Publishing Independent Publishers Guild Archived from the original on 13 May 2007 Retrieved 25 September 2013 IPG Diversity Award Highly commended in this category was Tamarind Books an independent that has specialised in multicultural children s books and titles for black children in particular for 20 years Publishing News 2008 Archived 13 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine Verna Wilkins The reluctant publisher 20 years on The Galley Club 2008 2009 nbsp Children s literature portalExternal links editTamarind website Verna Wilkins The Right To Be Seen Patrick Hardy Lecture 29 October 2008 Verna Wilkins on Tamarind Books Part 1 Random House Children s Publishers UK 27 August 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tamarind Books amp oldid 1188989207, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
