< Shelly the tortoise says: “NO TO AGEIST AGE BANDING!” Well, he looks like he could be saying that…
The debate about age-banding on children’s books is everywhere right now. Philip Pullman, Michael Rosen and Michael Morpurgo are firmly against the idea, and Darren Shan too has had a lot to say on the subject. Many children are also having their say on the CBBC Newsround pages.
Although age banding won’t affect the books I write, it will affect the books I read. I’m not comfortable with age ‘branding’, and I think stickers on the fronts or backs of books with “Age 8-10″ or “Age 11-13″ emblazoned on them would be ridiculous. Some authors are hopeful that it will be discreet 8+ etc, on an inside page of the book. I suppose we will have to wait and see regarding the exact details, which might well change over the coming weeks.
I signed the petition at No to Age Banding, as I hate the idea that age banding is going to be pushed on the authors who are absolutely against it. Now, Darren Shan says that after categorically refusing, his publishers have agreed to leave age-banding off his titles, but Darren Shan has clout, he’s sold ten million books. What about the authors with less influence? Will they be given a choice, or will the choice only be given to those who are considered too valuable to upset?
My view is that if each author is genuinely allowed to choose whether or not age banding is put on their books (without pressure to conform to what the publisher wants), then okay. But some booksellers are already saying that it would be confusing to have some books with age banding and some without, and therefore giving authors a choice would be No Good. But if some bestselling authors will be getting a choice anyway, we’ll already have a two-tier system, so why not offer that choice to everyone, irrespective of how much profit the publishers are making out of them?
Here is an extract from the article Darren Shan published on Vulpes Libris:
Several weeks ago, I heard from my publisher that “the industry” had decided to implement age branding, because someone did a survey which stated it would be good for the business, and that authors would sell more books because of it. I immediately objected and said I didn’t want any age branding on my books. I was going to make my objections public at the time, but kept quiet because I was hoping that if enough writers objected to their publishers, that the idea would be dropped like the stupid, harmful, insulting hot potato that it is. (I’m still stunned by the fact that no writers were included in the decision-making process!!!) I never like having to have a go at publishers in public, and I was hoping they would see sense and spare themselves the embarrassment of starting a public war with their authors. Unfortunately they don’t seem to have taken the hint and are still pushing ahead with age branding. So I can hold my peace no longer!!!
I am 100% against age branding, as I see it as (a) a very stupid idea, (b) a definite, irrevocable step towards censorship, and (c) a way for publishers to exert even more control over their authors, to make writers conform to THEIR idea of what a book should be, how it should be pitched and marketed, and – even more crucially and worryingly – how it should be written in the first place. I think it’s very telling that authors were not asked about this in advance of the “decision” being made — I just got an email one day telling me it was going ahead. My response? Well, to quote the late Charlton Heston, “from my cold, dead hands!!!” I refused point-blank to allow age branding be put on my books. And my publishers, HarperCollins, to their credit, respected my stance and have agreed not to put any branding on my books.
Of course, not everyone is against age banding. Mark Thwaite at the Book Depository speaks from another position.
Children are as likely to “dumb-up” as dumb-down with regards to age range — wanting to read older books to be more grown-up. If they stick to age-appropriate books that just shows how useful the branding is!
The fact that it is over-prescriptive is silly: you aren’t going to be prevented from buying any particular title, you are just going to be given a little bit more guidance as to whether what you are buying is considered, on average, to be the kind of thing that most children of a particular age enjoy and can cope with.
I’ve seen a fair bit of the book industry and I know lots of writers, and I can’t help feeling that in this industry many authors don’t feel particularly valued. In fact, at times I’d say that authors are treated as if they are the lowest of the low. Even if I thought age banding was a good idea (which I don’t) it would still make my heart glad to see authors making a stand together, taking on the powers that be and demanding a say. Good luck to them.
