Diverse Editions, which dressed twelve classic books from Penguin Random House in new dust jackets featuring typically white characters reimagined as people of different races, was “suspended” following a quick wave of online criticism and accusations of “literary blackface.” Comprising such titles as Moby Dick, Romeo and Juliet, and The Secret Garden, the new covers were scheduled to launch Wednesday evening at the Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue in NYC. A panel discussion as part of that launch, including manager, business development and business department at the Fifth Avenue store Cal Hunter and assistant marketing manager at Penguin Random […]
Uncategorized
Latinx Activists Met With Macmillan Executives, Say They Agreed to Action Plan
Latinx activist from #DignidadLiteraria and Presente.org met with Macmillan leadership on Monday afternoon to discuss the controversy about representation in publishing sparked by Jeanine Cummins’ American Dirt. A panel of authors including David Bowles, Myriam Gurba, and Roberto Lovato spoke with Flatiron Books president Bob Miller, Macmillan president Don Weisberg, as well as representatives from other Macmillan imprints. Two representatives for Oprah and O Magazine listened remotely. In a press conference afterward in Zuccotti Park, Matt Nelson, executive director of Presente.org said they got “substantial commitments across the company for them to do better.” Gurba said, “Our goal here is […]
The Missing Piece: Three Days Before Bolton Leak, White House Said the Manuscript Contained Top Secret Information
On January 23, three days before the NYT reported on stories said to appear in John Bolton’s book manuscript (and three days before Simon & Schuster’s metadata describing the book, showing the jacket and offering it for pre-order started appearing online), the National Security Council wrote to Bolton’s attorney that they had problems with the manuscript. Senior director for records, access and information security management Ellen Knight wrote to attorney Charles Cooper, as reported by Insider, “The manuscript appears to contain significant amounts of classified information. It also appears that some of this classified information is at the TOP SECRET […]
Romance Publishers Withdraw From RWA’s National Conference
In the latest development in the ongoing RWA controversy, Harlequin, Avon, Entangled, Berkley, Kensington, and Sourcebooks have pulled out of RWA’s 2020 national conference, scheduled to be held in San Francisco in late July. Harlequin wrote in a letter to the RWA board of directors on Wednesday, “As a leading global publisher of romance fiction that is committed to diversity and inclusion, we at Harlequin believe it is important that all authors feel included, respected and heard. Recently reported actions by RWA leadership have therefore led us to decide not to sponsor or attend the RWA2020 national conference. We will […]
RWA Suspends Courtney Milan for Ethics Violation, Rescinds Suspension
A controversy involving the Romance Writers of America’s code of ethics played out online following an ethics ruling by the organization about romance author Courtney Milan. On December 23, Milan was suspended from RWA for one year and banned from holding positions in the organization in the future. (She has served on the RWA board.) The ruling was based on a series of August Twitter posts by Milan criticizing other RWA writers. But then the next day, RWA rescinded the ruling “pending a legal opinion.” The AP reports that 28 “organization leaders in various regional positions” called for the resignation […]
People: Quinton Leaves BN for Scholastic
Barnes & Noble vp and general merchandise manager, bookstore Sasha Quinton is the latest senior executive to leave the company, named evp, Scholastic and president, Scholastic Book Fairs effective January. She is succeeding Alan Boyko, who announced his retirement earlier this year after 14 years in that position. Quinton will report to ceo Richard Robinson. He said in the announcement, “We believe her instinct for finding and marketing books that captivate young readers, deep expertise in retail and merchandising, and proven operational acumen make her the ideal candidate to lead Scholastic Book Fairs. The market for book distribution continues to […]