Ayesha Ansari is a Teaching Assistant, mother of two and the founder of Mirror Me Write, a Manchester online indie bookshop, promoting inclusive books and authors from underrepresented backgrounds. She established her business at the end of 2019.

Mirror Me Write grew from Ayesha’s deep commitment to representation and desperately wanting to see more books with multiple narratives being promoted. As someone who loved Literature, she saw schools relying on familiar texts. Whilst being useful in terms of topics, they felt dated and non-reflective of wider society. She wanted to promote books that would be windows and mirrors for all children to see themselves in, whilst promoting tolerance, empathy and a better understanding of the world.

Her hope has always been to affect positive change in schools by helping them to identify key inclusive and own voice books that could be used across the curriculum. In her words, “Representation is not a privilege, it’s a right!”.