The U.K.-based consultancy Inclusive Minds contracts with dozens of ‘inclusion ambassadors’ to shape the next generation of children’s books.
Over the weekend, the publisher Puffin announced that it had scrubbed language deemed “insensitive” and “non-inclusive” from the works of Roald Dahl, the classic children’s book author, in some cases rewriting whole sentences and sections to align with contemporary progressive mores.
Some references to characters’ physical appearance were sanitized to avoid the impression of so-called fat-phobia, and some gendered references were neutered so as not to offend transgender readers. Prose that might be considered culturally tone-deaf was also removed.
In Dahl’s The BFG, the main character, a giant, no longer wears a “black” coat, and characters don’t turn “white with fear” anymore.
So who made these decisions about what future generations are entitled to read?
The bowdlerization was done with the blessing of Dahl’s estate by the U.K.-based consultancy Inclusive Minds, which is dedicated to “inclusion and accessibility in children’s literature.” The organization’s mission is to make mainstream books “represent every child.” Guided by this mandate, the nonprofit enlists “sensitivity readers” and “inclusion ambassadors” to rid children’s stories of supposed stereotypes and derogatory connotations.
The ambassadors range in age from eight to 30 years old and are drawn “from marginalized, under-represented or misrepresented groups and backgrounds,” according to the Inclusive Minds website. As of 2021, the organization contracted with nearly 100 ambassadors, who are tasked with connecting with children’s book creators to provide input and advice on new books.
For example, a former ambassador named Habeeba helped author Robin Stevens “ensure authentically inclusive characters” in her books The Guggenheim Mystery and Mistletoe and Murder.
The organization also works with publishers to modify existing works for re-publication, but Dahl’s case marks the first time the group has gotten their hands on the treasured collection of a world-famous, deceased author.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Inclusive Minds stressed that ambassadors are not mainly responsible for suggesting changes to existing works — a task reserved for sensitivity readers — but did acknowledge that they are occasionally involved in providing feedback.
“We do think those with lived experience can provide valuable input when it comes to reviewing language that can be damaging and perpetuate harmful stereotypes,” the spokesperson said, adding that ultimately publishers decide what to include in the final published text.
Publishers and authors pay various fees per ambassador for review services on new manuscripts and illustrations. It’s unclear exactly how much Puffin paid Inclusive Minds to soften Dahl’s prose.
The ambassadors and sensitivity readers report to a small group of full-time Inclusive Minds staffers. Former senior staffer Jo Ross-Barrett, who describes herself as a “non-binary, asexual, polyamorous relationship anarchist who is on the autism spectrum,” was almost certainly instrumental in the Dahl project. As project manager at the firm, Ross-Barrett hinted on LinkedIn in 2022 that she was working on a secretive, major initiative.
The project involved “delivering a large-scale, comprehensive review of inclusion issues and potential solutions for copyright holders and publishers of one of the most famous classic children’s book collections in the world (specifics under NDA until publication),” Ross-Barrett wrote in a LinkedIn summary.
While previously serving in an ambassador role, Ross-Barrett worked on “LGBTQIA+ inclusivity in sexual education content, portrayals of trans characters in fiction and autistic people in fiction and non-fiction about neurodiversity.” Ross-Barrett now works as an independent DEI consultant.
The current director of Inclusive Minds is A. M. Dassu, a children’s fiction and nonfiction writer whose most recent books include Fight Back — the story of a girl who fights Islamophobia after a terrorist attack in her area — and Boot It, the story of two ethnically diverse boys who “tackle racism” on their sports team. Ross-Barrett reported directly to Dassu at Inclusive Minds, according to LinkedIn.
Gift Ajimokun, who says she is black, queer, and “neurodiverse,” has been a sensitivity reader and inclusion consultant for Inclusive Minds since 2020. She has worked for Penguin Random House U.K., of which Puffin is a subsidiary, where she founded an “internal community for people of colour in Penguin Random House which aims to promote the voices of staff of colour as well as our authors.”
Her resume also includes a stint at HANX, which describes itself as producing women-focused, environmentally friendly condoms and sexual-education commentary.
Sarah Mehrali — a current ambassador for Inclusive Minds, according to LinkedIn — complained in a blog post on the organization’s website that her Muslim culture was never represented in the books she enjoyed as a child.
“I read the glorious The Secret Garden books by C. S. Lewis and Enid Blyton’s Famous Five Adventures. I became lost in these magical worlds but learnt that people of colour don’t go on adventures,” she wrote. (In fact, Frances Hodgson Burnett, not Lewis, is the author of the novel The Secret Garden.)
Lois Brookes, who worked as an ambassador in 2020 — the latest year of ambassadors listed on the Inclusive Minds website — touted her “very intersectional identity and background” in her company bio, listing her sexual orientation (lesbian) her ethnic and religious attachments (Jewish, Romani Gypsy), and her psychological disorders (depression and anxiety).
Also on the 2020 roster was Jay Hulme, a transgender male poet, and Sascha, a queer, trans, and intersex individual who worked for a charity for trans people in the U.K.
A woman named Maryann, another 2020 inclusion ambassador, said in her bio that she was a feminine-presenting lesbian concerned with the representation of gay women in the arts.
“Gay women are either presented as ‘hot lesbians’ for the male gaze in an overtly sexualised manner, or as butch-presenting lesbians as funny, un-romanticised sidekicks,” she wrote in her Inclusive Minds bio.