ffs, amanda craig novellist dropped from mslexia

That statement is just sheer headfuckery!

Welcoming, inclusive to all, freedom of speech, all must be respected and heard - unless you oppose rape threats of course.

But OK if you support rape threats.

That statement is utter nonsense. So supporting women against misogynistic online bullying undermines Mslexia's climate of welcome and inclusivity?

Amanda has spoken out asking her supporters not to bully the other writer in any way. Just shows up her integrity and strength of character.
They go low, we go high... let's do this.

Mslexia have released a statement: Mslexia have released a statement: twitter.com/Mslexia/status/1311252031764606976

"...if a Mslexia judge expresses views that threaten to undermine Mslexia's climate of welcome and inclusivity, we will always ask her to step down from that role."

Quite nasty.

Another subscriber here - I've contacted them (through the contacts page before it was disappeared) to tell them what I think and will be cancelling. I've had my doubts about them for a while because of the "identify as a woman" thing but I hoped they were just trying to cover their arses in a cowardly way and would not actually prioritise or platform males or trans ideology. Not that that's really OK either but I was waiting to see. To find out they are actually rabidly pro-TRA is just horrifying. How can they be so daft as to not see that that renders their whole existence pointless? You cannot be or do anything for "women who write" when that includes any man who chooses to barge his way in.

It's especially tragic/baffling/mindboggling that Mslexia of all organisations does not want stand up loud and proud to defend JKR against bullying and misogynistic abuse and threats. They would not even have to nail any colours to the mast to say that a woman writer should not be subjected to that as a general principle, whatever your views.

JKR is what Mslexia supposedly stands for. A woman writing, persevering, succeeding, shaking up in the publishing industry, and supporting other women all the way up and from the top to this day.

However I agree KMH does not deserve to be cancelled, bullied or piled on. Nor in fact does anyone involved. Explaining why I am angry and why I disagree is important, but my view is that everyone needs a way out and a community they can turn to when they see through the shite - which more and more people are doing.

Great. Now ordered two lovely crime novels by women.

Or ‘research’ as my sister calls murder novels/tv shows... we think she’s joking but I haven’t actually seen BIL since last summer...‘He’s just gone up to check to barn... he’s taking the recycling to the centre, he’s out for a ride, he’s out feeding the veggie patch...’ 🤔 😳😆

I do agree with this. I'm disappointed that another woman author has acted in such an unpleasant and thoughtless manner to another woman and supported tacitly the obscene misogyny leveled at JK Rowling but it won't help to pile on, it will just confirm her thoughts.

I wouldn't support a pile-on. I do think, however, that KMH should understand that what she has done is contemptible, and not supported by ordinary, decent people. She should feel ashamed, because she has treated another human being with spite and unkindness.

I've just purchased The Vicious Circle and having last night finished Troubled Blood - which was the best of all the Strike novels - a real tour de force. I'm going to start Vicious Circle later today.

There was a wonderful quote that made me laugh in Troubled Blood and I've been leaving it on other threads. It seems very appropriate for this thread as well:

"He pointed a finger up at the sky.
"What?" said Robin
"If you look carefully," said Strike, "you might just see an asteroid passing through the house of bollocks"

I've just ordered Lie of the Land about a discontented London couple who move to Devon. Much rancour and lovely descriptions of the countryside is what I'm expecting.

The Golden Rule had very good reviews when it was published this summer. The Vicious Circle caused quite a stir when it was published (as it was partly set among London's literati, and some people thought it was based on real people).

I think she also writes children's books, so that's another possibility for the parents here.

Any recommendations?

She writes detective novels? I love a good murder mystery.

I've contacted Mslexia and am about to purchase my first Amanda Craig book. I like a good detective series. Any suggestions where to start?

The people who engage with this, refusing to sit on a panel with another writer whose opinions they disagree with, how do they manage normal life ? Do they not realise that this is a very bad precedent to set , losing another woman work because you disagree with her ? That next time it might be you whose opinions are out of favour .
It always seems to be people with no skin in the game. Men, or the women whose lives are largely unaffected by males in female spaces. A staggering lack of empathy, (here from someone who makes a living from their imagination.)

I also agree with posts which said she actively went out to get Craig removed not just saying I disagree and leaving. It is upsetting and very disappointing to see women treating others in their profession in this manner.

I feel exasperated with all this and I haven't read this author before but glad to have someone new to buy. I will be purchasing one of her books, maybe more.

KMH could've quietly dropped out if she felt so uncomfortable judging a competition with a woman who stood up against misogyny.

What she actually did was deliberately tell her employers that she couldn't possibly work with Amanda who she considered a big meanie bigot and that they must choose which to dismiss, but that if they got rid of KMH they too would be big meanie bigots who aligned themselves with the bigger meanier JKR. The biggest crime on the planet.

Bullying with the intention of causing another woman to lose employment because she had a different opinion to you.

I agree with wellbehavedwomen ‘s post on page 1. It is very sad that any woman could read JKR’s statement and interpret that as hatred. My dds met KMH at a book signing and she was lovely to them, she is clever and interesting, the sort of young woman who twenty five or thirty years ago would have been completely supportive of other women. I am baffled by the attitudes of so many young, intelligent women towards their own sex. It feels like treachery to me. Throwing other women to the wolves whilst looking like the virtuous one.

I don’t think KMH should be targeted (she had only received a few mild comments on Twitter when she locked down). I think it is always bad to have a pile on because when a woman is piled on there are certain people who will just join in (and they are the sort of people who dish out all sorts of abuse online).

I do think Mslexia deserve heavy criticism for this as they made a poor decision in dropping Amanda Craig. Who do they think their readers are?

Amanda Craig is very classy. Which of her books do you recommend? I looked at the Golden Rule but that is a bit too close to the bone for me as it is about domestic abuse.

Touching on that, Countess, I was thinking this morning that Mslexia bent over backwards to accommodate a woman's discomfort about a woman's signature to a letter, but what would have happened if she'd said she was uncomfortable because a fellow (male) judge had publicly supported someone alleged to have committed sexual assault?

If women say being in the same space as a man makes them 'uncomfortable', what happens?

It's odd.

well that was a cathartic email :D

KMH is a bloody coward - if she really felt AC was SO dreadful and she wanted to make a point she could have stood down but she didnt. She made it very passively aggressively clear who needed to go and mslexia are spineless cowards

Going to email them and I hope everyone else on this thread does too.

I really hope KMH doesn’t get targeted because I think it is important that women feel able to speak up about feeling uncomfortable without getting punished for it, and particularly without getting punished for other people’s overreaction, because although in this case I think her feelings of discomfort don’t deserve action being taken, when women feel uncomfortable about more serious things they often question themselves and whether they should speak up.
In this case the fault lies primarily with Mslexia who are not being the grown ups here.