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EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Bent Key Publishing Key Logo in Pink

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STATEMENT

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Our society’s diversity is its greatest strength. Companies who operate with a wide range of age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, and perspective are proven to be better companies. This understanding is at the centre of the Written Off ethos.

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Written Off is a safe space for all communities. We are run by a team of queer, neurodiverse artists and work as a collective that recognises that the wealth of our society comes from its wide range of people from all walks of life.

Our aim and reason for existing is to raise and amplify the voices of people who are marginalised within our society or feel unable to access traditional publishing routes due to their needs. We actively encourage neurodiverse writers and those with dyslexia to approach us, regardless of the appearance of their manuscript, as we look first for passion and quality of language. We also welcome LGBTQIA+ artists and recognise and respect pronouns and identity. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Nonbinary people are valid. 

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We are committed to treating our artists fairly and compensating them for their work. This is done threefold:

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  • By covering the initial print-run costs and marketing

  • By issuing artists with their own virtual or in-person launch

  • By offering a 40% share of all profits made once their publication breaks even.

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We want our artist base to reflect society at its strongest – however, we recognise that there is always more work to be done. To this end, we are doing the following:

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  • Calling out hate speech as it occurs in submissions – and reporting it to authorities. We will never publish a writer who uses hate speech in any form

  • At the end of year, we will publish an annual transparency report, detailing our approach to diversity and inclusion and detailing artist profiles

  • Annual safeguarding and sensitivity training for the Founder and any employees working on behalf of Bent Key

  • ACE training for the Founder to improve relationships with artists struggling with trauma-related issues

  • The development of focused anthologies that encourage writers from marginalised communities

  • Working alongside a GRT community spokesperson to develop GRT-focused materials

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We expect to be called out when we get things wrong and actively encourage all reading this to do so if they see it. You can email our Founder at hello@writtenoffpublishing.com to outline any complaints you have regarding our work.

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