Revolt at publisher Hachette re Rowling "transphobia"

I am (or was, technically) in publishing and I'm horrified that they thought this was ok. There are lots of nuanced questions about how we handle controversial materials I editorial etc., but to try to refuse to work on an author's book because you don't like their views on a topic completely unrelated to their book is absolutely not acceptable. I don't think any publishing house could allow it; it would make it impossible for them to function. Most of the authors I worked with were middle aged or older men. I very much doubt I would have agreed with any of them on politics, and I've certainly had to hold my nose a few times when dealing with unpleasant people and/or content. It's part of the job. Hell, it's part of most jobs, isn't it?

Thank goodness. Honestly, these people are so entitled it's staggering. They're really not used to any debate at all. They really think they can just shut down or "cancel" anyone with an opinion they don't like. And then they're so, so shocked when the world doesn't go their way and they're presented with the flip side of that choice - actually having to stand by their convictions and quit.

I'm late to this, it's been a hell of a day, I've had a cry but reading this has lifted my spirits enormously.

The adults are back in the room. Thank duck for that, they really shouldn't leave these wokesters alone for too long.

What a relief!

The problem with yoof is that they haven't experienced free speech at university. Lecturers are now all woke or too craven to open their mouths about this stuff for fear that the yoof complain. (And they will be listened to - the customer is king.) What used to be an environment for learning about alternative viewpoints has now turned into a mouthpiece for woke speak. I'm a mature student and I'm horrified at how many lecturers have their pronouns on their twitter accounts.

‘We will never make our employees work on a book whose content they find upsetting for personal reasons, but we draw a distinction between that and refusing to work on a book because they disagree with an author’s views outside their writing, which runs contrary to our belief in free speech.’

This. Respect.

And do read that Wild Women Writing thread lamahaha linked. It’s distressing stuff. People’s careers ruined over differences of opinion.

It was always doomed to fail! The Big Boss at Hachette is JKR’s actual editor - he took her on as Robert Galbraith, when even he didn’t know it was her writing - and therefore as well as money (and he is very commercially savvy) he also has a personal relationship with her and loyalty. He is also A Very Good Guy - look at all Hachette’s other announcements on diversity etc. I guarantee they’re all well aware of all of the arguments and I’d bet money both Hachette & Warner Bros saw the JKR essay before she publicly published it.

I feel a little sorry for them - children’s publishing is woker than woke and in this current climate of ‘speak out & live your values’, ‘silence is violence’ etc then they may well indeed deeply feel they had to do this.

But it was doomed to fail and it’s not a good look, because her essay is clear and rational, and The Ickabog is a bloody fairytale with nothing at all to do with trans people.

Oh sorry pam completely missed your question

I stood back 😀

He is a wonderful young man who (a year or so ago now) told me that he was pleased he wasn’t a young teenager now as he would probably be easily convinced that he was really a girl

I found that sad

Well done Hachette and Warners.

I feel that nobody ought to point out to individuals burning an author's book or books that what they are doing is probably increasing her revenue: that book will not be available second-hand, so someone will have to buy a new copy instead. Rowling gets nothing for Potter books sold in Oxfam shops, but she does get her author's share of the sale of a new copy.

Yes, @Lamahaha. I wonder what Virginia Woolf would make of all this. In reality, all JKR's fortune amounts to is A Room of One's Own in this enslaved-to-the-patriarchy-dystopia we've all woken up in.

I ma still in shock to read that young persons working in book publishing really believe that they have to approve all the books published.
That is so far removed form the real world that I am, gobsmacked!

You have to live in a way that accepts not everyone will agree with what you think. It is part of being tolerant and civilised.
What has happened to these young people......can they really believe they are soooo entitled.?
Fearing for the future and so glad JFK has been resolute.

why don't these woke young people focus on something truly shocking like the rise of numbers of women being forced into undergoing FGM ? see todays Guardian www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jun/16/coronavirus-millions-more-girls-risk-fgm

"Canada's state broadcaster, CBC, is telling children
@jk_rowling
was "transphobic" to say only women menstruate. The CBC Kids hosts then praise Daniel Radcliffe as "inspiring" for "advocat(ing) for what he believes in" after Radcliffe said trans women are women."

mobile.twitter.com/AndrewLawton/status/1272492279647940608

Sorry this might not be the right thread to share this in, but there are a lot of JKR threads atm and this seems the most active. And also sorry if it's already been shared, plus another sorry for saying sorry so many times that it's lost its meaning.

@TheSingingKettle49 I've started a thread to record JKR support buying. Lots of us are doing similarly.

Well I’ve just added to her fortune, I’ve never had any interest in her books before but I’ve just bought the first two Strike novels as a result of her essay.

But no one seems to be publishing at the moment - it doesn't take a whole department to work on a book.

I’m amazed they weren’t all furloughed. Anyone I know in publishing has been.

Failing that she could self-publish and it would barely dent her financially.

In an idle moment I worked out that JKR could buy a top of the line Porsche every day for the next 25 years before she needed to hide from the rent man

Actually that’s wrong

Even if she never wrote another word, her books were moved to the restricted section and the banks paid the most pitiful interest rate since Ebenezer Scrooge, she could probably still buy Porsche’s until the sun was a cold dead cinder

Or she could run her own airline giving the seats away for free (motto, Fly The Feminist Sky’s)

Or in real terms, she’s worth two Brad Pitt’s and a Weasley (or should that be a weasel )

And I just wish I had the interest on the interest of her interest

That's bloody brilliant. If I ever decide to get another mainstream publisher after the misogynistic mindfuck of the last one I let into my life, I'll definitely send to them.

It's definitely something to smile about after the shit show that was the last fortnight

Unofficial strike, or strike outwith procedure, is a sackable offence in the UK.

However, the sacked person has protections if it can be shown they were sacked for expressing their sincere beliefs ... remember that vegan case ? Non religious philosophical views ...

This is such great publicity.

The woke don't seem to have a clue about how this sort of shit backfires.

We are mid pandemic, people are losing their jobs and in the midst of this the snowflakes are complaining about working on a book (the author of which is a major part of their business success) released for free to support parents and the resulting books royalties will be donated to those whose suffered during the pandemic.

This and the other thread about TRA's writing to Boris about the genital police at toilets has made my bloody day!

Oh how brilliant. I would love to be a fly on the wall for those managerial "chats".