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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Yet another woman - a writer - sacked after TRA campaign.

230 replies

WildishBambino · 01/07/2020 16:12

Having seen Hachette and the Blair Partnership stand up for JKR, I had some hope for the publishing industry.

There's a series of children's books called The Warrior Cats. Proper children's books, aimed at the 8-12 age range, and not part of YA fiction. Published by Harper Collins, but put together by Working Partners.

The books are written by 'Erin Hunter' which is collective pseudonym for a bunch of female writers. One of which was a Scottish writer Gillian Philip.

When JKR was attacked, Philip changed her twitter handle to include a message of support. This attracted the ire of the TRAs and also it appears the Furries (because of the anthropomorphic cats I assume). She received a huge amount of sexualised abuse via Twitter, which she just retweeted and said 'Bring it on homophobes and lesbian-haters'.

Her twitter feed is now gone, but you can view a cache <a class="break-all" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Qisq_6YhRvwJ:twitter.com/Gillian_Philip+&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=firefox-b-d" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here

As she wouldn't recant, the TRAs facilitated a mass spamming of complaints to her employer Working Partners.

Within 24 hours James Noble is the managing editor at Working Partners personally emailed complainants to say she was sacked.

This really doesn't seem to have been picked up by the media, presumably because it involves a children's author far less well-known than JKR. But it shows what happens to women who step out of line when they aren't too big to cancel.

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lionheart · 03/07/2020 23:17

Is there a reason they only have her surname on the amazon page?

JKRisagryff · 03/07/2020 23:05

queenofknives that’s awful! You just have to hope people will come round eventually and realise they treated you like shit.

queenofknives · 03/07/2020 22:58

Oncewasblueandyellow thank you. I have no idea what will happen next. I publish with independent presses and my publishers have so far been supportive but if the thumbscrews are applied I don't know what will happen. I left twitter before I was 'cancelled' so I think that the mob are less inclined to go after me but I am not complacent. I have lost friends and supporters and readers and gained a reputation as a bigot, so that's fun.

I can't be silent, though. I don't really understand what is the point of being a writer if you can't think for yourself and don't think people should be allowed to write what they want. I've lost respect for many, many writers who I thought were great until all this went down.

Oncewasblueandyellowtwo · 03/07/2020 22:38

Queen Hope you are OK?That's awful,what will happen now for you?

Oncewasblueandyellowtwo · 03/07/2020 22:37

Roseburn Thanks.I can't find it still though,do the rankings show just when you purchase?I hadn't checked when I bought the ebook.

classicspring · 03/07/2020 20:58

Yes, she was hung out to dry by the other writers in the Erin Hunter pseudonym. I really hope that this keeps climbing up the rankings. The reviews are really good so obviously well deserved.

queenofknives · 03/07/2020 20:34

Have just bought a copy. Love this campaign and I hope LOADS of people will buy the book!

Does anyone know if it's gone up in the rankings?

I'm a writer (not famous) and have recently been 'cancelled' for a blog post in support of JKR - the so-called 'writing community' in the UK has been taken over completely by woke bs, and in the states it's even worse. There are frequent cancellations, back channel discussions, lists circulated of 't**fs' etc and frequent call outs of people for various things that often seem made up or ridiculously exaggerated. A recent discussion was about conventions where writers go to socialise and talk about books - there were writers calling out writers for getting drunk!!!

So when women writers are getting attacked and abused, the 'community' either joins in or turns a blind eye. It's disgusting, tbh.

GCGayDad · 03/07/2020 20:32

Just ordered it but a nearly new paperback signed by author. Hope this is still reflected in ratings.It sounds great anyway.

TheWayOfTheWorld · 03/07/2020 20:20

Oo, gone up around 4.000 places since yesterday. Let's keep it moving up!

Roseburn · 03/07/2020 19:55

The ranking is on the same page as you buy the book
Under Product Details

Yet another woman - a writer - sacked after TRA campaign.
Pasghetti · 03/07/2020 19:45

Just bought it on Kindle. Solidarity Gillian Philip.

Siablue · 03/07/2020 19:41

I have just bought it too. I will read and leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. How do you find out what ranking it has?

Oncewasblueandyellowtwo · 03/07/2020 19:35

Got the kindle ebook.What best seller chart are you all looking at?

truthisarevolutionaryact · 03/07/2020 19:29

Another purchaser here. Was so pleased to read the first couple of Robert Galbraith (JKR) books and have added Bad Faith to my kindle.
Lots of money been saved by not buying crap in M & S, Body Shop etc so am happy to support ethical GC women.

Flywheel · 03/07/2020 19:25

It does sound good. Going to make a start on it tonight

Calmasasleepycat · 03/07/2020 19:00

The Kindle version is now £5.99. Well done DreamingBe! I’ve bought it in support of Gillian, but the book seems really interesting. I love dystopian SF.

StopTheWorldImGettingOffNow · 03/07/2020 18:25

I've just bought it. Gillian if you're reading this, we're all behind you!

DreamingBe · 03/07/2020 18:02

It's cheaper on Google's book store, so I've reported the lower price to Amazon on their page at www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Faith-Philip-ebook/dp/B07BYKVFZK/?tag=mumsnetforu03-21 in the hope that they'll match it - will tempt more people to buy copies!

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Roseburn · 03/07/2020 15:44

My paperback just arrived! :)

Yet another woman - a writer - sacked after TRA campaign.
Binglebong · 03/07/2020 13:04

Just in case anyone is wavering - I've started Bad Fairg and it is beautifully written. Really comfortable style to read that flows well. No idea if the story is good yet but I'm looking forward to finding out!

JinnyTheWitch · 03/07/2020 12:52

I wonder if Toby Young would do a AMA thread?

SchadenfreudePersonified · 03/07/2020 12:28

*Young - Not Jones.

I blame my hormones. Grin

(I like Toby Jones)

SchadenfreudePersonified · 03/07/2020 12:27

Sorry but I won't be going near anything to do with Toby Young - I simply do not trust him (based on his history, nothing sinister), but I'm glad of anything that might put this story in the spotlight.

Same here bishopgiggles - that's why I wanted to know if it wa the "real" TY.

I'd trust Dominic Cummings to observe the lockdown rules before I'd trust a word of Toby Jones.

LajesticVantrashell · 03/07/2020 12:00

This is my first public comment on this - I hope I can't be outed from my user name. I'm slowly dipping my toe in the water and reading all I can in order to be able to defend my position if challenged.

I've just purchased the Kindle version of Bad Faith and it gives me a little buzz to think Gillian is sitting somewhere watching her book storm up the charts and has no idea a group of likeminded women are all behind her.

WildishBambino · 03/07/2020 09:47

Sorry but I won't be going near anything to do with Toby Young - I simply do not trust him (based on his history, nothing sinister), but I'm glad of anything that might put this story in the spotlight.

Totally agree. I redirected my monthly Amnesty donation, which I'd maintained for 20 years, to Index on Censorship as it's a more established free speech organisation.

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