When Fionnuala Cloke and Gráinne O’Toole set up Skein Press in 2017, they wanted to bring diversity to an Irish publishing industry that had previously published few works by writers from black and ethnic minority communities. Speaking to The University Times, O’Toole stresses the importance of not allowing Irish writing to become stagnated: “If we aren’t reading about ourselves in all our diversity, it’s not a true reflection of who we are, and our culture can’t develop and grow, so that’s one of the philosophies behind what we’re doing.”
Literature offers us a reflection of our world, and the Ireland that we live in today is comprised of many different ethnic groups. To condense this world down to writers who come from similar ethnic groups or classes is to create an Irish literature that is disingenuous and elitist. O’Toole says it’s difficult to diversify our literature when writers from minority ethnic groups do not see themselves reflected in their national literary canon. “It’s very difficult, for example, for a Traveller writer to break through. Firstly, they’ve never seen anyone from their own community published, secondly they wouldn’t have the networks or contacts to hear about opportunities, to know publishers, to get encouragement.” O’Toole says that “access to editorial support is a big thing for people as well, to help them develop their concepts and manuscripts”.
Skein Press initially opened a submission call in 2017 before directly reaching out to writers from black and ethnic minority communities. Their first book, This Hostel Life, written by Melatu Uche Okorie was a major success and was shortlisted for the An Post Book Award. Uche Okorie is a Nigerian writer who spent eight years in Direct Provision in Ireland. This Hostel Life documents her experiences in Direct Provision and offers readers an insight into a dehumanising institution in our society that we often read about in the news but not in the words of the people who live there.
Skein Press have recently secured funding from the Arts Council, which will provide them with the resources to publish more books by writers like Eoin de Bhairduin and Uche Okorie next year. O’Toole describes De Bhairduin’s book as a “work of folklore around stories that have been told to him by his father and they also weave through the beliefs and culture of the traveller community”. The voices of travellers have always been excluded from Irish literature, and De Bhairduin’s book will be an exemplary work that provides readers who are not from the traveller community with a distillation of a culture and community that has existed in Ireland for centuries.
O’Toole emphasises that Skein wants its writers to write about anything and not feel the burden of having to produce a work that must encapsulate their community. “It’s not that we would ever say to writers that we want a book about a, b or c. We tell them to write what you’re writing but by virtue of the fact that people are coming from different experiences and spaces and places and communities, their writing will be so distinctive and the themes will be distinctive.”
While change has been slow, publishers are beginning to acknowledge the importance of producing diverse works. “What we’ve seen is other publishing houses are starting to open up and directly stating in their submission guidelines that they want writers of colour, ethnic groups, underrepresented writers and this hadn’t been the case in Ireland.” Skein Press is currently at the forefront of this shift towards a more inclusive outlook on literature.
