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Guest Post: Rewriting the literary landscape for an inclusive future

Guest post written by Victoria Bennett

Illustration by Heedayah Lockman

Publishing has made loud commitments towards uplifting marginalised voices, but scratch the surface, and the reality is different. As a disabled writer, carer, and founder of Wild Women Press, I know firsthand that access to publishing, live events, and professional opportunities remains far from equal. The truth is that literary spaces are often designed for those who can afford to be in the room — physically, financially, and structurally. And for those of us who can’t, there is still no real commitment to making space.

I founded Wild Women Press in 1999 to give women’s stories a platform, particularly those who are caregivers, geographically isolated, low income, older, disabled and chronically ill. For 26 years, I’ve worked to create accessible and inclusive spaces for women (including non-binary people and trans women) to connect and share their stories. Why? Because these narratives matter. Clarissa Pinkola Estés writes, ‘To be ourselves causes us to be exiled by many others, and yet to comply with what others want causes us to be exiled from ourselves.’ Simply put, our narratives matter. Refusing to let gatekeepers decide who gets to share stories is a radical and necessary act of resistance.

Yet, like so much grassroots activism, this work is unpaid or underfunded. If independent literary spaces are doing the real work of inclusion, why are they the least supported? And why does the burden of creating accessible spaces always fall on those already excluded?

The answer is that the literary industry thrives on unpaid labour. Writers are expected to carry the weight of their promotion, especially if they do not fit the narrow mould of the industry’s marketing machine. From panel appearances to publicity work, authors—particularly disabled, working-class, or caregiving writers—are expected to give their labour for “exposure.”

This is why I set up the Wild Women Writers’ Salons—a space for women authors to discuss their creative practice in meaningful, peer-led conversations. In 12 months, I have curated an international programme bringing together 43 authors and over 1,000 audience members worldwide. Many of them, like me, have been excluded due to disability, income, geography, or caregiving.

And I’ve done it from my living room in Orkney.

If I can do this, then mainstream publishers and festivals certainly can. For years, we have had the tools to make the industry more inclusive. Yet, many literary spaces remain physically and structurally inaccessible. Despite embracing it during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many publishers and festivals resist or have abandoned it altogether, dismissing it as an unprofitable, “lesser” option. But who gets to be in the room matters.

According to the 2021 Census, 59% of all unpaid carers in England and Wales are women. Caregiving responsibilities—whether for children, elders, or disabled family members—often make physical attendance at events impossible^[1]. Disabled women face similar barriers. The overall general employment rate for disabled women is just 53.1%, significantly lower than the 84.2% employment rate for non-disabled women^[2]. The publishing sector reflects this, with disabled writers underrepresented in publishing, literary prizes, and industry roles. The unspoken assumption remains: if you can’t fit the ableist demands of the industry, you don’t belong in it.

So, on International Women’s Day 2025, I ask: what does an equal literary landscape look like? Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in publishing cannot be a marketing strategy. It cannot be a buzzword rolled out once a year to tick a diversity box. It must be embedded into the fabric of the industry.

• Structural change must replace superficial commitments. We need long-term support for underrepresented writers, including mentorships, flexible contracts, and accessible publishing models.
• Inclusion must be sustained, not seasonal. Media platforms cannot just feature diverse voices on single days like International Women’s Day and forget the rest of the year.
• Grassroots spaces must be funded. The publishing world relies heavily on unpaid labour to sustain the heavy lifting of EDI work. Funders and publishers must commit to fair pay for all literary labour, ensuring that independent spaces, particularly those outside major institutions, receive real financial support.
• Caregiving and disability must be factored into opportunity. Remote participation, flexible deadlines, and financial support for accessibility should be industry norms, not afterthoughts.
• Fair pay for fair work. The gender pay gap in publishing is real. Bloomsbury Publishing, for example, reported a 19.3% mean gender pay gap in 2021. Meanwhile, in literary prizes, just 36% of non-fiction prizes over the past decade have gone to women. Women writers — especially disabled and caregiving women — are still not receiving pay equity and recognition.

Change cannot come solely from those most affected by inequality. Those in power — publishers, festival organisers, funders, media platforms — must commit to an industry that values all voices equally. It is not about making space at the table but about rebuilding it entirely.

An equal literary landscape is not one that simply invites marginalised writers into existing spaces — spaces that do not accommodate our needs or diversity. It must support us in telling our stories authentically within those spaces and proactively include the readers who find resonance in our words.

Stories do not just entertain us — they shape the world. I, for one, want to contribute to a world that celebrates what connects us and what makes us wildly, beautifully different. And for that to happen, those who hold the keys to literary opportunity must do more than talk about change. They must build it.

And if they do? To coin the 1980’s film, Field of Dreams — We will come.

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^[1] https://www.carersuk.org/policy-and-research/key-facts-and-figures/#:~:text=Unpaid carers in England and,Petrillo and Bennett, 2023)

^[2] House of Commons Briefing Paper Number 7540, 24 May 2021 — Disabled people in employment — Andrew Powell

 

Victoria Bennett is an award-winning disabled poet, author, and full-time carer. Her debut memoir, All My Wild Mothers (John Murray Press, 2023) won the Nautilus International Award for Memoir, and was shortlisted for the Lakeland Book Awards and the People’s Book Awards. Intertwining themes of grief, motherhood, and rewilding, it is a lyrical and intimate exploration of family, loss and belonging.

In 1999, Victoria founded Wild Women Press — a space to explore, create, dream, question, grow and and disrupt. She compiled and edited the online Wild Woman Web project from 2018 - 2023 and set up the Wild Women Writers’ Salons in 2023, an online series of inspiring monthly salon conversations between authors. 

With over 30 years of experience facilitating creative projects, and building creative communities, Victoria has worked across various community-based initiatives, and taught creative writing at Lancaster University, where she also gained her MA in Poetry. 

Originally from Cumbria, she now lives in Orkney with her family, close to where the wild things are.

Read the Equal Media and Culture Centre’s report ‘Equality, Diversity
and Inclusion: women in media, creative and cultural sectors in Scotland.’