So sometimes it’s important to take a risk and tackle co-writing diverse projects, with respect and persistence.

As I said, co-writing is a good way of covering topics both authentically and sensitively. Though this doesn’t free anyone from potential criticism, of course, but does make it less likely they’ll do something that people wish to criticise.

My point was that no-one is restricting non-marginalised creators. No-one is controlling what they can or cannot write. But often, and often unintentionally, non-marginalised authors take resources and shelf-space that marginalised authors already have to fight for – which is why it’s so important that marginalised voices are boosted as much as possible.

The way to improve diversity (which I hesitate to mention is generally less complicated to define than you imply,) within books and publishing is by adding more chairs to the table, instead of removing seats that could be taken by marginalised creators.

And it is of course true that if your book hadn’t been written then it couldn’t be adapted. It’s excellent news that the writer will be transgender.

Dear Cee,

Your comments are valid. I tend to agree about the need to research carefully when you are writing of a culture other than your own. But co-writing is a feasible option so stories reach mainstream audiences too. I’m delighted that our ‘f2m:the boy within’ has now been optioned for new media, and the writer will be from within the trans community collaborating with Ryan who is trans. If our original , co-written novel hadn’t existed, (one trans co-author and myself) this couldn’t have happened.

The argument within the Diversity Movement is that perhaps not everyone *should* write anything they want – i.e., if people don’t write with enough understanding of the marginalisation they are writing about, or take the place of #OwnVoices books within a publisher’s upcoming releases or marketing resources, etc.

I think that co-writing in particular is a good way of making sure this is covered, but the issues within publishing remain.