Another author of pro trans YA books turns out to be a creep

[NotBadConsidering]

Honeybee was about a 14 year old boy wanting to transition. And this is the author.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-13/author-craig-silvey-charged-with-child-exploitation-offences/106223528?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

I’ve always thought it a good idea for young people to have (fiction) books that address the sort of challenges they may feel as they come to terms with their sexual feelings (not just feelings relating to being ‘trans’, but to sexuality more generally). But reading this made me wonder if I have been very naive.

Is it perhaps the case that we should be very wary indeed of any author who writes books that focus on these challenges? In that they are spending way too much time thinking about teens and sex? And that doing so may well result in the author developing an unhealthy sexual interest in young people, even if he/she did not previously have that interest?

Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey is a good YA book and is actually on the year 12 (aus final year) curriculum at school. Runt is very popular for primary school kids, a movie was made about it as well. He recently wrote a sequel to Runt which was also well-received.

His only other book, Honeybee which was for a YA audience was creepy. I didn’t finish it which is unusual for me as I am a very fast reader and rarely don’t see a book to its end.

in the book, Sam, a suicidal 14 year old boy from a abusive/neglectful home is on a bridge on th verge of jumping. On the same bridge, he meets Vic, an old man who is also suicidal.

Vic takes Sam home with him, whereupon Sam starts wearing Vic’s dead wife’s old lady clothes. Vic takes Sam to a drag show where a whole heap of sexualised comments are made to Sam by the men in dresses.

That’s when I stopped reading.

As you can imagine, the book was published to great acclaim.

i think he wrote it to justify having more access to troubled children.

Although he was invited to schools regularly to read and promote Runt.

I’ve always thought it a good idea for young people to have (fiction) books that address the sort of challenges they may feel as they come to terms with their sexual feelings (not just feelings relating to being ‘trans’, but to sexuality more generally). But reading this made me wonder if I have been very naive

I think there’s been a shift. It used to be a good description of what children might be thinking or feeling. Judy Blume, for instance.

But these newer books tend to be adult men’s sexualised view of what they want children to be thinking or feeling. Like Juno Dawson’s Wonderland.

Just reading that I am thinking, for the millionth time, when did people start deliberately closing their eyes to the red flags? What happened to common sense? Obviously the 1960s and 1970s when I was a child was a time when in real life red flags were ignored all the time because much abuse was being carried out by people like priests, doctors, social workers and teachers who were difficult to challenge, or by parents, and nobody was listening to children or believing them. But one thing I feel definitely wouldn't have happened is publishers looking at manuscript such as you have described and saying 'Brilliant idea, that's just what we need to promote to young teenagers'.

After I discarded it I hunted online for other reviewers who didnt like it. Almost all critics and readers seemed to adore it, gushing over the bravery of the (eventually) trans protagonist, citing the novel’s unflinching coverage of the most vulnerable population etc.

The only review that hated it as much as me was by a TiM who said it was full of lazy stereotypes, was massively unrealistic, the old man seemed dodgy and the plot was a mess. He said that, unfortunately, as soon as a book was about trans people no one reviewed it properly.

He has three young daughters. I don't know what to say.

Who could possibly have predicted this?

Vic takes Sam home with him

What editor in the world greenlights a YA novel where a 14yo goes to the home of a suicidal adult man he just meets??? Wtf kind of message is this sending to young children?? Another poster wrote something about how we as a society began ignoring red flags they literally don't get any redder than this! Any editor who greenlights content like this for children should absolutely be called out!

Jesus. More and more of these fucking creeps are turning up.

The “sacred caste” of TIMs is well-known but there’s also one where adults who seem to support gender-confused children are free from the usual scrutiny. I know that’s not news to anyone here, but I agree that editors should have been more scrupulous.

It’s ripe for grooming, isn’t it? Older mentally unwell man takes a confused 14 year old boy to live with him.

FWIW I think Silvey’s CSA material was of younger children, mainly because he was caught by the police in the action of engaging with another CSA distributer online. Whereas the perverts who prey on older children seem to be caught by police pretending to be an older child on line. I read something saying Silvey had also supplied material - he has a toddler child and twin babies at home, although obviously it’s not known if his own children were abused. His poor wife.

The other thing to bear in mind is that any criticism of the book (even legitimate) leaves you wide open to accusations of transphobia and a social media pile on, which could destroy someone’s career.

If you create a sacred caste, predators will jump on the opportunity.

I wonder. Do a portion of people from this pro sexual liberation and pro trans gender crowd view sex with children (aka rape..) and child abuse material as negotiable too. Given that they keep pushing and pushing for what's acceptable.. maybe banning such content is seen as oppressive in some eyes.

Not that I have an issue with the gay and bisexual and lesbians (my son is gay or bi. Not sure which..). Its just the whole LGbtq community mostly the T as i dont see this from other parts of their community and their theory that I'm skeptical of .

From what I’ve read about PIE I think the answer is sadly yes.

Queer theory promotes less rigid views about sexuality and sexual identity but has sneakily also promoted the concept of children as sexual beings.

Peter Tatchell is an example although he is still going into schools to talk to children about their sexuality in spite of him promoting child rape 🤷‍♀️

sorry, what's PIE?

Do a portion of people from this pro sexual liberation and pro trans gender crowd view sex with children (aka rape..) and child abuse material as negotiable too

Yes. An essential tenet of Queer Theory is “love is love” and transgression of boundaries, including the removal of age of consent laws. Look at the Derrick Jensen Queer Theory Jeopardy video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PJsf5QY12rg&pp=ygUZRGVyZWsgamVuc2VuIHF1ZWVyIHRoZW9yeQ%3D%3D

He is a classic case of the Emperor's New Clothes. Not a very good writer, but on every school curriculum, adored by all, automatically given good reviews. He also would have made a lot of money given he's sold millions yet couldn't raise the bail surety so is still locked up. I do feel for his partner and his very young daughters but his books were full of red flags, misogyny and sexual content yet because they were a bit edgy and wrote about trans issues and he's a white bloke he got a free pass from everyone.

And I shudder to think of how many confused young children would have DMd him as a "much loved children's author."

He's apparently refusing to give up all his passwords and his lawyer argued that he needs internet access as he's self employed.

I read Honeybee long before trans was on my radar. I was very open to learning as a friend’s child was having gender issues. I hated the book. It was just a bad book but it was probably also the first time I really thought about drag and recognised how uncomfortable it made me. Which was the start of changing my view on all of this. I also find myself wondering whether the research for this book is what dragged Craig down the rabbit hole. We will probably never know which came first.

Paedophile Information Exchange

A campaign group of Paedophiles in the 1970s

This explains it,
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5246429-5246429-bbc-radio-4-series-this-week-about-pie-in-dark-corners?flipped=1&page=1

You maybe can download it

I think it's that he's a manipulative predator and he was grooming kids, parents, teachers, librarians, and booklovers from the start.

Ugh.
He is from my hometown. I've never read his books but been vaguely curious about why they're so popular and why he is so high-profile, as they sound pretty run of the mill.

This fawning piece has some flaming red flags

1. How he was insistent on being involved with choosing the model (teenage boy) and design of the cover of Honeybee
2. How he researched "tucking" for the book. FFS.

archive.is/mnavq
'You’re never content': how 'the captain' changed course after Jasper Jones

Orange flags - weird stuff about his bedroom and his wife (she's very pretty and accomplished and reading between the lines he decided he needed a wife because being a single childless male children's author is weird?),but maybe that's just hindsight.
Definitely comes across as massively narcissistic but I guess if we locked up writers for that, they'd all be doing time.

His facebook page has petitions promoting Medicare funding of children's gender treatment; glowing pics of drag queen story hour including a pic of a drag queen with a baby; quite a few photos of the Honeybee cover model; and countless photos of young children dressed as characters from his books.

His brother is in jail for massive financial fraud. I read on another forum that the brother gets a thanks in the acknowledgements for Jasper Jones, for financially supporting CS during the writing of the book. Hmm.

At the time the book was written it’s odd that for a successful author he didn’t have a home office for his desk/computer and he was using his bedroom instead. Clearly at the time of his arrest he did have his own office space but IIRC he was using a section of the garage as his writing space.

That article is so gushy 🤮