Rejoice! Free Propaganda!

Konnie Huq, Jamie Oliver, David Baddiel, Adam Kay, Mary Portas and Joseph Coelho are among those collaborating on an ebook about the climate crisis which will be free to access for every UK primary school.

And I'm betting the ones squawking about celebrities writing children's books won't be uttering a single peep about this.... 

The ebook, Children for Change, is edited by Huq and features contributions from more than 80 writers, illustrators, environmentalists and young people including Tom Gates author Liz Pichon, The Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler and TV presenter Chris Packham. The book contains stories, poems, illustrations and features about a variety of topics related to the environment including fast fashion, rewilding and measuring our carbon footprint.

Ugh! Children are usually pretty good about avoiding propaganda and stories adults encourage them to read, so hopefully, they will regard this with as much horror as I once regarded stuff by Enid Blyton.  

The introduction advises children to “start anywhere” in the book. “It’s a chocolate box, essentially”, said Huq.

Well, Jamie Oliver won't like that! He's a health nut now, isn't he? 

“What I love about the idea behind this book is that it’s not all doom and gloom,” said Young Bond series author Charlie Higson, whose writing appears in the anthology. “It’s about letting kids know there are things they can do to safeguard their futures and encouraging them to get involved.”

Because how else can the next cadre of eco-terrorists be raised? 

Huq said it was important that the book was made available for free because there are many children who do not own books, as well as schools that do not have libraries.

A school with no library is an abomination.  

If It’s That Easy For Them To Do, Maybe You’re Not As Good As You Think You Are?

"A modern classic by Keira Knightley" reads the provisional cover of the actor’s debut children’s book, I Love You Just the Same. Set to be published next October, the 80-page volume, written and illustrated by Knightley, is about a girl navigating the changing dynamics that come with the arrival of a sibling. The Pirates of the Caribbean star is the latest in a long list of celebrities to have turned to writing children’s books. McFly’s Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter have been hovering at the top of the bestseller chart since the publication last month of their latest book The Dinosaur that Pooped Halloween!. Earlier in the year, David Walliams dominated with his newest book Astrochimp. The entertainer has sold 25m copies of his children’s titles in the UK alone, according to Nielsen BookData.

And? So what? Well, it seems there's a big upwelling of jealousy... 

“These celebrities do not need any more money or exposure, but plenty of genuine writers do,” says the author, poet and performer Joshua Seigal. When news broke of Knightley’s book deal, authors expressed frustrations online; in one viral tweet, the writer Charlotte Levin joked about deciding to become a film star.

Well, go for it, girl!  

Authors say that stars wading into children’s publishing discredits the efforts and talents of non-celebrity authors. “Writing for children is an art,” says Seigal. “It requires skill, practice and discipline. I work really hard on my art, and it’s quite galling that people seem to think it is something that’s easy to do.”

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But they are producing something the audience wants. If you aren't, maybe the fault is within you. 

“Before landing a publishing deal, I had sent over 180 queries across three manuscripts over four years,” says the author James A Lyons. “Non-celebrities face hundreds of rejections and ghosting, and not a fast-tracked ticket to the front of the queue.”

Writing is a business. Give the audience what they want is the key to success. It seems that this is indeed what they want. Crying about it isn't going to help.

What Fresh Hell Is This?

I had to do 'Mansfield Park' for A level, and I loathed it with a passion. What a 'de-colonised' version would be like I can't even imagine...

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished...

Country singer Dolly Parton has been branded as 'racist, sexist and homophobic' after she recommended a children's book that a woke academic declared to be pushing 'white western values'.

The artist and philanthropist offered the book, Llama Llama Red Pajama, as part of the library of free titles her club periodically mails out to children up to the age of five in an effort to promote literacy.

Given that 'white western values' are clearly dominant in successful countries, why wouldn't they be pushed? What does this idiot think should be pushed instead?  

Jennifer K. Stone's Ph.D. dissertation, titled 'Reading Power With and Through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (DPIL): A Critical Content Analysis,' asserts that the book selections in the program conform to dominant white western values.

Stone's analysis of the children's book claims that characters with disabilities, LGBTQ+ couples, and non-normative gender identities are erased.

Ah, the same woke nonsense they can get from school and TV. I don't think they're missing out somehow...  

She also critiques the portrayal of values such as individualism, work, single-family homes, physical fitness, and goal-oriented literacy, arguing they privilege a narrow worldview.

One worth acquiring if you want your children to get on in life. Maybe that's the real issue?  

When Matt Fleming of the Orange County Register read the story to his one-year-old daughter he claimed he had 'no idea I was supporting 'white saviorism.''

You aren't.  

Stone's dissertation has sparked controversy, with many parents continuing to support Parton's initiative, which is simply aiming to promote literacy among youngsters.

Another failed acandemic goes down in flames, almost certainly still thinking she's the right one and the parents are wrong...  

Attract Better Readers, Joanne...

The Chocolat author, 59, has suggested that all books could include trigger warnings 'as standard' in the copyright page so that readers know what to look out for before they start reading.She has said introducing a new policy would 'make a lot of sense' as trigger warnings are like 'wheelchair ramps' in that they exist 'because some people need them.'

No, not at all. You're confusing 'want' with 'need'. 

Ms Harris, whose prequel to her best-selling novel will be released next year, ran a social media poll to ask her followers if they agreed with placing trigger warnings in the copyright pages.

Ah. That's what this is about. The age old reason for something contoversial: "I've got a book to flog!" 

She added that she didn't believe the warnings should be for 'things people might disapprove of (eg: swearing, etc)', rather thing that 'make them feel unsafe.'

What sort of book can ever make you 'feel unsafe'? 

Adult Fiction Never Did Me Any Harm...

Parents, publishers and booksellers have generally welcomed “BookTok”, the videos on TikTok promoting literature.

As well they should! 

In an age when many worry about children spending too much time in front of a screen, reading has become “cool” on the platform. But a trend for “spicy” (ie sexy) books has led to fears children may be reading titles with adult content.

Oh noes! Isn't it better that, than they are out on the streets stabbing one another? 

Thriller writer and journalist Kat Rosenfield criticised a bookseller on X last year for sharing a video offering alternatives to teenage readers who want to read adult books. “Imagine being a normal teenage girl, just trying to buy some good old-fashioned smut” and “getting shooed out of the romance section”, she tweeted. “It’s normal and healthy for teenagers to be interested in sex, and there’s no safer way to explore that interest than by reading stories about it,” she added. “The problem is not the kids who are reading spicy books. It’s the ones who don’t – or can’t – read at all.”

So very true. I couldn't wait to get my adult library card (as I believe I've mentioned before), which I got pretty early and maybe far too early, who can say? Certainly a lot of my peers didn't have one. And did I check out some modern-parlance 'spicy' titles? Reader, I cannot tell a lie! Jackie Collins, Jilly Cooper...

The librarians didn't turn a hair. And I learned a lot.

Go Woke, Go Broke...

Woke books that were bought for huge advances by 'inexperienced' editors have flopped commercially, insiders say. 'Ideological fanatics' allowing their politics to dictate professional decisions have seen profits slump, according to industry experts.

 Gosh, you’d really have to have a heart of stone, wouldn’t you?

Among the works responsible for huge losses is a hotly anticipated memoir by the actor Eliot Page about his journey transitioning. 'Pageboy' sold for a $3 million advance but has sold just 68,000 copies.

 Just sack a few woke editors, to recoup the money!

Other recent 'woke' flops are Carolyn Ferrell's, 'Dear Miss Metropolitan' described by the New York Times as 'a story of three young girls, Black and biracial, who are kidnapped and thrown into the basement of a decaying house in Queens.' The novel was acquired in a deal estimated to be worth more than $250,000, but has shifted just 3,163 copies since it was published in 2021.

 Blimey, that’s not that much more than if all her friends and relatives bought a copy…

Another example is 'queer feminist Western', 'Lucky Red' by Claudia Cravens which has sold around 3,500 copies despite commanding a $500,000 advance.

Its clearly true what they say about a fool and their money. But let’s face it, they had it coming: 

'We flat-out decided we weren't going to look at certain white male authors, because we didn't want to be seen as acquiring that stuff,' one senior editor told The Free Press.

When asked whether editors acknowledged they were 'discriminating against writers because of their skin color', the editor replied: 'I don't think it was worded quite as blatantly as that. It was worded more like, 'Is this the right time to be championing authors of more traditional backgrounds?' Often, the language was a bit opaque.'

The bank balance isn’t opaque, it’s pretty stark, isn’t it? 

Oh, Here We Go…

...Tolkein's in the 'racism' spotlight again:

Over the years, Italy’s ultra-conservative prime minister has quoted passages in interviews, shared photos of herself reading the novel and even posed with a statue of the wizard Gandalf as part of a campaign. In her autobiography-slash-manifesto, she dedicates several pages to her “favourite book”, which she refers to at one point as being a “sacred” text. When I read the news this week that Italy’s culture ministry is spending €250,000 to organise a Tolkien show at Rome’s National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, and that Meloni will attend the opening, I couldn’t help wondering: why? What is this government trying to achieve by stamping its mark so aggressively on one of the world’s most loved fantasy sagas?

Maybe just to watch you get your Y-fronts in a bunch, Jamie?

When The Lord of the Rings first hit Italian shelves in the 1970s, the academic Elémire Zolla wrote a short introduction in which he interpreted the book as an allegory about “pure” ethnic groups defending themselves against contamination from foreign invaders. Fascist sympathisers in the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI) quickly jumped on the provocation. Meloni, an MSI youth wing member, developed her political consciousness in that environment. As a teenager she even attended a “Hobbit Camp”, a summer retreat organised by the MSI in which participants dressed up in cosplay outfits, sang along to folk ballads and discussed how Tolkienian mythologies could help the post-fascist right find credibility in a new era.

At this point, my eyes were rolling so much they nearly fell out of my head... 

Obviously, we’re talking about a fringe movement here. But it’s worth recognising that, with a little imagination, the sagas of Middle-earth do fit pretty neatly into the logic of contemporary rightwing populism.

Paging Dr Freud... 

 

The End Of Discernment...

I was rather surprised to read this Tweet in the week: 

Surely not? Thinking there was some error, I clicked the link. And...worse was to come:

Journalists, broadsheet papers and magazines have a duty to widen their coverage, to review and write about all books not just the literary, niche non-fiction titles. Whether a book is reviewed or featured, for good or bad, implies that this book is worthy of note, this book was worthy of editorial space. Making a conscious effort to widen book coverage is a win-win situation, inviting readers in, establishing a larger audience, rather than pushing them away. Visibility is supreme and the media, and journalists, are key in upholding this principle.

So, that copy of 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' has just as much worth as Shakepeare or Ibsen. Really? That's the hill you want to die on? 

Reading is a subjective activity, bound by personal taste, and it is also an intimate one. Invading this space with prejudice and snobbery corrupts the choice in such a matter. Whether something is “highbrow” or “lowbrow” should not be an issue and these labels ought to be made redundant; it is if books are being picked up, freely, that matters.

Shall we extend this extraordinary outlook to other media, then - the collected works of the Spice Girls is of equal value as Wagner's Ring Cycle? McDonalds is equally deserving of a Michelen Star? 

Oh, wait. We already have.

Go Home, Tor, You're Drunk...

*sighs* 

I used to come here for the literature news and reviews, but it seems it's become yet another company that's been killed, gutted, skinned and its carcass is now being worn by the woke crowd while they demand respect. 

Can I stand to read this article? Let's see...

I’ve known I was genderqueer/nonbinary since I was about twenty-four. But in 2004 I did not know I could use those words in context with myself.

*struggles to continue* 

Then I found myself part of two communities built on very specific heteronormative gender rules. The first was the brothel at the local renaissance festival...

That's it! I'm out! 

Pick Someone Capable Of Gratitude This Time...

...and not an ungrateful little nobody catapaulted to riches beyond his wildest dream who turned on you like the feeble-minded little snowflake he grew up to be. 

Real actors who could act him off the screen with their hands tied behind their backs know what you do for them.

Another Author Had A Solution, Phillip...

Camilla, the Queen Consort, has urged authors to resist curbs on freedom of expression in an apparent reflection on the backlash against changes to Roald Dahl’s books. Speaking at a Clarence House reception to mark the second anniversary of her online book club, Camilla told authors: “Please remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or impose limits on your imagination.”

Well, well, well... 

Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, suggested Dahl’s work should be allowed to fade away and be replaced by modern children’s writers.

Gosh, I wonder who exactly you had in mind, Phil ol' chum..? 

Pullman said Dahl’s work would not disappear overnight from shelves in homes, school libraries and elsewhere. “What are you going to do about them? All these words are still there, are you going to round up all the books and cross them out with a big black pen?” 

Let's ask Ray!  

The Day Had To Come (Again)....

The day when I found a 'Guardian' post that I could only agree wholeheartedly with: 

I first read Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising the summer I turned 13, the year the Berlin Wall came down. I read it by torchlight under the bedclothes, not because of parental curfew or power cut, but because that seemed the safest place to read what was, unmistakably, the eeriest novel I’d ever met.

It's a sign of Christmas! And Reader, you will know that this is one of my all time top classics.

This winter, I hope The Dark Is Rising will find new audiences around the world. For, working with the actor, director and theatre-maker Simon McBurney, and supported by Complicité (the theatre company that Simon co-founded) I’ve spent the past year adapting The Dark Is Rising as an audio drama. It will be broadcast first on BBC World Service in 12 episodes, beginning on 20 December, with an episode following each day, such that the broadcasts correspond to the “real time” of the novel’s own unfolding across the solstice, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

This will be, I suspect, the first time I've ever tuned in to the BBC World Service! And I have high hopes for this.

The Culture Wars Are Yours To Lose, Harris...

...and the first shots have been fired:

Philip Pullman has called for an external review of the Society of Authors (SoA), the UK’s largest trade union for writers, illustrators and translators. Earlier this year he stepped down as president of the organisation because he felt he “would not be free to express [his] personal opinion”.

External reviews can throw up all sorts of things... 

In a letter he wrote to the SoA’s council and published by Private Eye this week, Pullman said he resigned because he “felt that the Society did not support me when I was criticised by those who were attacking” Clanchy and her book.

“Instead of looking at the issue calmly, the society (through the management committee and its chair) immediately adopted a position of self-righteous neutrality (as it seemed to me), though more self-righteous than neutral,” the letter continued.

And now Clanchy too has come out swinging. I need to order more popcorn! 

Here We Go Again...

Wait, what?

Perceptions of racism in fantasy go back to the origins of the genre. Is it a coincidence that D&D’s dishonourable, dark-skinned elves come from a matriarchal society, or that its savage orcs bear uncanny resemblance to a traditionally white, western conceptualisation of barbaric peoples from the “uncivilised” world?

*sighs* More race-obsessives. They're everywhere now, in every type of hobby or pastime...

Take JRR Tolkien. On the one hand, he spoke out against Nazi race doctrine and has been heralded for “multiculturalism” in his work. Nevertheless, his stories are steeped in Eurocentric bias.

See? It's not enough for fanatics that you denounce things. They can always find something that makes you guilty. 

And if they can't they'll just invent it! 

One of the best – or worst – examples of a flawed understanding of history leading to perceptions of a racist representation is George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, seen on TV as Game of Thrones. Martin has said: “I wanted my books to be strongly grounded in history and to show what medieval society was like.” But the sexualising of young women, exoticising of non-white characters and white saviour storylines in the series are typical of the prevalent white-washing of medieval history.

And the 'pushback' against it leads to absurdities like a black Anne Boleyn. They might as well put a dragon in there too!

The pushback to structural racism in fantasy, be it fiction, television or gaming, comes in many forms. Starting conversations about diversity and inclusion in publishing is a start.

Aren't we all bored to tears with 'conversations about diversity' by now? The race-obsessives are the only ones who really care. 

“Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is strength, for only a diverse group of adventurers can overcome the many challenges a D&D story presents,” begins Wizards of the Coast’s diversity statement. But in an unequal world, words such as “diversity” are loaded. Pushing past the legacy of colonialism is the only way to create a more level playing field; fantasy should not be an excuse for stories to perpetuate the prejudice that resulted from imperialism.

“Part of our work will never end,” continues the statement. In that, at least, it is right.

Well, there can be no more implacable and relentless foe in fantasy than the one in real life, that's for sure... 

Is This An Amazon Killer?

...when readers, publishers and independent bookshops shared their delight about the new books retail platform, Bookshop.org, launched on Monday, it was the result of some of the most exciting news we’ve had in publishing for aeons.

Wow! Things must be really boring in retail, is all I can say! What's new about this platform, then? 

Following its success in the US, Bookshop.org has arrived in the UK and promises something we have all been asking for – an ethical and transparent platform for buying books that amplifies the uniqueness of independent bookshops, with reading lists curated by humans rather than algorithms.

Who's been asking for that? Have you, Reader? If I want 'reading lists curated by humans', there's Goodreads.

Bookshop.org allows any independent shop to customise its own online store front, select books to recommend and, any time a bookshop directs a customer to the site through one of its links, it gets 30% of the sale.

Well, we'll see. But don't write off Amazon just yet. 

Who Really Cares..?

Penguin Random House has partnered with think tank The Runnymede Trust to promote diverse reading lists in schools.

The Lit in Colour campaign follows a recent report by Teach First, which claimed that many students will leave school having never studied a book by an author of colour or ethnic minority background.

Really..?

 

But...maybe there's a good reason that they should study these books?

Penguin CEO Tom Weldon outlined the need to make reading lists more inclusive and representative of the students who study the subject.

"At its best, English Literature offers young people a passport to see and understand the world through others' eyes, inspire a lifelong love of reading and a fundamental sense of belonging. Access to a diverse and representative range of books, authors and characters is key — in classrooms, school libraries and at home.”

But if a kid from the mean streets of Bethnal Green reads about Victorian England or the time of Shakespeare, they are 'reading and seeing the world through others' eyes', aren't they? 

What sort of books are you recommending they read instead?

What books do you think should be on the curriculum?

We can think of many wonderful writers of colour who could be studied, but ultimately we’re not educational experts, and so don’t think it’s our place to suggest them. Moreover, it’s really important to us that at this stage of the initiative that we’re not trying to identify solutions or make recommendations before the findings of the research are published.

So...you don't know, because you're not 'educational experts'. But you are experts on books. 

Aren't you? Surely you could suggest something..?

"But the reality is that our young people are still studying a mostly white, mostly male English Literature curriculum: one which neither reflects contemporary society nor inspires a generation to read outside of their classes. We are joining forces with The Runnymede Trust to support the many schools and teachers working hard to make change on the ground, and to better understand the depth and breadth of this issue.”

Ah. Say no more. You've no idea what you like, just what you don't. We see you. We see you very well. 

Utter Cowardice...

Approaching media created by problematic figures is always a messy prospect, but Legacy finds itself in a particularly complex place.

'Legacy' being the latest addition to the JK Rowling empire, a RPG based in the Hogwarts universe. 

And we know what everyone a tiny minority of overly-vocal lunatics thinks about JK Rowling, don't we, Reader? 

The people who made it really want you to know that the woman behind one of the most popular fantasy franchises on the planet had nothing to do with it.

Which is cowardly and ridiculous. They should be proudly announcing that it's part of her creation. No-one who loves the books will care. The frothing lunatics who have to lie about her to carry out their deranged campaign won't buy it anyway. 

...Rowling has spent months leveraging her platform to ceaselessly espouse repeatedly debunked lies about the existence of transgender people.

Reader, she hasn't.  

She has supported fellow bigots who she claims have been “canceled” for their beliefs when it comes to transgender rights and expressed fears that “any man who believes or feels he’s a woman” might be allowed to share a bathroom with “natal girls and women.”

Reader, she has. And good on her, because everything these 'bigots' warned about has happened.  

She’s just released a book in her long-running Cormoran Strike crime series (written under the pen name Robert Galbraith) that perpetuates the stereotype that transwomen are men disguising themselves to prey on cisgender women.

Reader, she hasn't. Not is she 'Islamophobic', as the rest of the woke crowd seem to now want to level at her.  

So the question around Hogwarts Legacy has not become “Can I get this on the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X,” but instead “Can I support the people who made this game despite its connections to a person whose views I believe are repugnant?”

If you don't buy it, what will happen? Nothing! Millions of gamers will go ahead because they love games, or they grew up with - and loved - the 'Harry Potter' universe. That's how insignificant your little tantrums are...

The books, your well-read copies that she built her power from, are in the past. You can still love them, love what they meant to you, and continue to do so while acknowledging Rowling’s actions in the present are abhorrent. But the Fantastic Beasts saga, merchandise, and now Hogwarts Legacy are the series’ future—one made in the shadow of the figure Rowling has become. No matter how you justify engaging with that, she will still profit. No matter how distant her reach.

Decrying someone who created a fictional world you used to love because her views on real life don't gel with yours is so utterly bonkers and childish that it beggars belief that these are supposed adults working for online publications. 

"Whoa, Whoa, We Didn't Mean That Sort Of 'Diverse Team'..."

"...there's no place for someone who holds opinions we don't agree with!".

Chris Snowdon, managing director of Working Partners, said: ‘Erin Hunter is not a single person but a diverse team of creatives and writers.’

Well, there's diversity and then there's diversity. Clearly, this was the wrong sort.

‘The decision taken was not in direct response to the nature of Gillian’s personally expressed views.’

What horrendous views does she hold, then, that require sacking? Does she want women chained to the kitchen sink? Does she think gay couples are an abomination?

It came after the writer, who has penned a popular series of books for eight-to-12-year-olds, added the hashtag #IStandWithJKRowling to her Twitter handle.

Ah. Of course. She holds the only wrong opinion that matters to the mad (and tiny and totally unrepresentative) vocal trannie mob on Twitter...

After Ms Philip received sexualised abuse and deaths threats from the trans lobby, she tweeted ‘Bring it on, homophobes and lesbian-haters’ – which only inflamed the situation.

Yes, how dare she do anything but cower in fear and swear never to voice her opinion ever again?

Within 24 hours, James Noble, managing editor of Working Partners, replied to the barrage of complaints saying: ‘The worlds created by Erin Hunter are meant to be inclusive for all readers and we want to let you know that Gillian Philip will no longer be writing any Erin Hunter novels.’

So what have you told your audience of young readers, Chris and James?

That if they are sufficiently motivated to make a fuss, the bullies will always win? That good people can be crushed and defeated by mere words? That a good employer will never stand by an employee who is attacked?

Great life lessons for youngsters, I'm sure parents will agree...

Some Good News!

Amazon has confirmed it will cut the price of its Kindle ebooks from Friday, after the government announced it would bring forward plans to stop charging VAT on online publications because of the pandemic.

The decision to remove the 20% VAT charged on online news subscriptions and books will bring them in line with their physical equivalents, which have always been zero-rated.

One wonders what took them so long. And why there was ever an imposition on these in the first place.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for people across the UK to get hold of the books they want whilst they are staying at home and saving lives,” said the chancellor, Rishi Sunak.

But every silver lining has a cloud, doesn't it?

The parent company of the Guardian welcomed the move and said any extra money would go towards supporting the Guardian as it becomes increasingly reliant on direct financial support from readers.

Proving that even if you're bored witless during lockdown, there's some things you just won't read!