Story Space

Story Space began in 2017 (curated by artist and academic Jessie McLaughlin) and was originally called Blast Off!, inspired by a children's book of the same name about a young Black girl, Regina Williams, who dreams of becoming an astronaut.

Blast Off was first published in 1973, but even in 2017 only 4% of children’s books published in the UK featured a character who was Black, Asian or minority ethnic. This rose to 20%  in 2021. The percentage of books published with a main character from a racially minoritised background has risen year on year but remains extremely low at 9% in 2021, meaning that over a third of English primary school pupils still find it hard to see themselves reflected in the books they read.

*This information is compiled by the Centre for Literacy and Primary Education through their Reflecting Realities reporting.

In collaboration with Tate Publishing, Knights Of and Roundtable Books, New Beacon Books and other independent publishers.