Waterstones, children's laureate Malorie Blackman, poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Phillip Pullman among supporters
Malorie Blackman, the children's laureate, supports the campaign not to identify intended readers by gender. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi for the Guardian
A national campaign to stop children's books being labelled as "for boys" or "for girls" has won the support of Britain's largest specialist bookseller Waterstones, as well as children's laureate Malorie Blackman, poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Philip Pullman and a handful of publishers.
The Let Books Be Books campaign seeks to put pressure on retailers and publishers not to market children's books that promote "limiting gender stereotypes".
In the week since its launch it has been backed by publishers Parragon and Usborne, as well as authors including Ros Asquith, Mary Hoffman, Eileen Browne, Pippa Goodhart, Laura Dockrill, James Dawson, Harriet Evans and the former children's laureate Anne Fine.
A petition calling on children's publishers to "stop labelling books, in the title or on the packaging, as for girls or for boys" because "telling children which stories and activities are 'for them' based on their gender closes down whole worlds of interest," has passed 3,000 signatures.
The Let Books Be Books campaign seeks to put pressure on retailers and publishers not to market children's books that promote "limiting gender stereotypes".
In the week since its launch it has been backed by publishers Parragon and Usborne, as well as authors including Ros Asquith, Mary Hoffman, Eileen Browne, Pippa Goodhart, Laura Dockrill, James Dawson, Harriet Evans and the former children's laureate Anne Fine.
A petition calling on children's publishers to "stop labelling books, in the title or on the packaging, as for girls or for boys" because "telling children which stories and activities are 'for them' based on their gender closes down whole worlds of interest," has passed 3,000 signatures.
Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, supports the campaign. Photograph: Sarah Lee
The move is the latest project from the Let Toys Be Toys campaign which objects to gender stereotyping of children's toys. It has convinced 13 retailers so far to not market toys based on gender.
Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy said: "I'm against anything, from age-ranging to pinking and blueing, whose effect is to shut the door in the face of children who might enjoy coming in. No publisher should announce on the cover of any book the sort of readers the book would prefer. Let the readers decide for themselves."
Dockrill told the Guardian the book project was an "urgent campaign that everybody needs to get behind".
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