What is a sensitivity reader?

Writing characters, communities, or experiences outside your own is one of the most rewarding and most challenging aspects of storytelling. A sensitivity reader is there to make sure you get it right.

A sensitivity reader is a professional reader with lived experience of a particular identity, community, or set of circumstances who reviews a manuscript specifically for the accurate, respectful, and nuanced representation of that experience. They are not reading for grammar or structure — they are reading for authenticity, and for anything that could cause harm, offence, or perpetuate damaging stereotypes.

In practice, a sensitivity reader will flag moments where representation feels inaccurate, reductive, or based on assumption rather than understanding. This might include dialogue that does not ring true, cultural details that are incorrect, a character's experience that contradicts the reality of the community they belong to, or well-intentioned portrayals that nonetheless rely on tired tropes. Their feedback is typically delivered as a detailed report, highlighting specific passages and explaining the concern alongside suggestions for how to address it.

Sensitivity reading is not about sanitising fiction or removing conflict and complexity from stories. It is about ensuring that when you write outside your own experience, you do so with accuracy and care — because readers from those communities will know the difference, and because representation done poorly causes real harm.

Sensitivity readers are sometimes confused with beta readers, but the distinction is important. A beta reader responds to the general reading experience. A sensitivity reader brings specific expertise and lived knowledge to a targeted area of the text. Both are valuable; they are not doing the same job.

Sensitivity reading is for any author writing characters or communities whose experiences differ significantly from their own — particularly where those experiences relate to race, ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexuality, religion, or mental health. It is most valuable before a manuscript goes into final editing, when there is still meaningful room to make changes.

Getting representation right is not just about avoiding criticism. It is about respecting the people whose lives you are drawing on to tell your story.

Be sure to note in your book that you included a sensitivity reader at the beginning of your book, and name them for reference (and to say thank you) in the acknowledgements.