Are millennials really driving ‘cancel culture’ - or is it their overcautious critics?

Older generations argue that young people’s insistence on equality in all things – including books – threatens to stifle free speech. But is that always true?I wouldn’t normally air my dirty literary linen in public, but here goes. When I finished writing my novel Putney, about a 13-year-old girl who has a “love affair” in the 1970s with an older man and realises decades later that it was actually abuse, my previous editor at Jonathan Cape chose not to publish it. The reasons emerged this year when he was interviewed in the Spectator. “If Lolita was offered to me today,” Dan Franklin said, “I’d never be able to get it past the acquisition team – a committee of 30-year-olds, who’d say: ‘If you publish this book we will all resign.’” He pointed to #MeToo and social media as fundamental factors: “You can organise outrage at the drop of a hat.”Fortunately, Bloomsbury’s acquisition team – overwhelmingly female and mixed aged – were brave enough to take on Putney, which was described in the Observer as “a Lolita for the era of #MeToo”. Whether there was any truth in his words or not, Franklin’s position reveals how much fear now exists in publishing. Related: Putney by Sofka Zinovieff review – a Lolita for the age of #MeToo ‘It’s only about not being an arsehole,’ my daughter said. ‘That’s not so difficult’ Related: Nabokov's Lolita: the latest thing millennials have apparently ruined Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-07-10 10:03:01 UTC ]
News tagged with: #including books #finished writing #love affair #older man ##metoo #jonathan cape

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Are millennials really driving ‘cancel culture’ - or is it their overcautious critics?'


Are millennials really driving ‘cancel culture’ - or is it their overcautious critics?

Older generations argue that young people’s insistence on equality in all things – including books – threatens to stifle free speech. But is that always true?I wouldn’t normally air my dirty literary linen in public, but here goes. When I finished writing my novel Putney, about a 13-year-old... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-07-10 10:03:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #including books #finished writing #love affair #older man ##metoo #jonathan cape


Aaand, Skyhorse is publishing Blake Bailey’s memoir about cancel culture.

While we do not, under any circumstances, have to hand it to Skyhorse, publisher of Sandy Hook deniers, anti-vaxxers, January 6th conspiracy theorists, and Woody Allen—their brand is extremely consistent. To wit: they will be publishing another book by disgraced biographer Blake Bailey (they... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-26 20:31:25 UTC ]
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Greg Tate, musician and leading hip-hop generation cultural critic, dies at 64

As a Village Voice critic, he became one of the leading chroniclers of the emergence of hip-hop and had a powerful influence on later critics. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-09 00:26:12 UTC ]
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Andrew Bolt says Alan Jones’ poetic departure not cancel culture as Sky finds ‘room for Piers Morgan’ | Weekly beast

Former shock jock Jones tells fans to find him on Facebook as he departs TV. Plus: Seven’s costly Cleo Smith case blunderWhen News Corp unveiled plans for Piers Morgan to headline an international prime time talk show we flippantly said “Move over Andrew Bolt, Alan Jones and Peta Credlin – there... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-11-05 01:29:20 UTC ]
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‘If publishers become afraid, we’re in trouble’: publishing’s cancel culture debate boils over

Publishing staff, in rows over authors from Mike Pence to Woody Allen, are voicing their reluctance to work on books they deem hateful. But is this really ‘younger refuseniks’, or a much older debate?In the 1960s, Simon & Schuster’s co-founder Max Schuster was facing a dilemma. Albert Speer,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-06-03 12:12:23 UTC ]
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Column: The Dr. Seuss 'cancel culture' backlash is a distraction. Here's the real issue

Why are many Americans committed to preserving words and images associated with forces bent on preventing fellow citizens from living freely and equally? Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-03-03 17:59:40 UTC ]
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Actual cancel culture: White House threatens John Bolton about impending book.

Because they have nothing to hide about anything, the White House has issued some kind of threat—according to CNN’s Jake Tapper—in a formal letter to former National Security Adviser John Bolton, whose forthcoming memoir from Simon & Schuster contains first-hand accounts of Donald Trump... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-29 17:43:05 UTC ]
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China Bestsellers for July: An Urban Online Gaming Culture Drives Sales

New fiction on China's bestseller lists captures the contemporary sensibilities of young adults in the country's largest cities. The post China Bestsellers for July: An Urban Online Gaming Culture Drives Sales appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-08-30 05:30:36 UTC ]
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How Marvel's API Will Change Cultural Criticism

Once again, comic fans are blazing a new path online.Anyone who gets their news online knows data journalists are trying to change cultural criticism. Browse around today and you can see Vox.com explaining the "7 things Kindle highlights tell us about readers," or Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PEN Union Cries Foul in Contract Talks as Criticism of PEN America Intensifies

A proposal in ongoing contract negotiations between PEN America management and PEN America United, its staff union, has led to charges by the union that the organization’s leadership is trying to stifle union members’ free speech rights—an assertion PEN management firmly disputes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award Winners

Safiya Sinclair, Lorrie Moore, and Kim Hyseoon were among those to take home National Book Critics Circle Awards on March 21, at the second in-person ceremony held by the organization since the pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Tor Books Criticized for Use of AI-Generated Art in 'Gothikana' Cover Design

The use of AI-generated assets in the cover art for the dark academia novel 'Gothikana' by RuNyx, originally self-published and reissued by Tor Books' romance imprint Bramble, has set off a debate about the role of AI in publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cover design #cover art #originally self-published #tor books


From Harry Potter to Taylor Swift: how millennial women grew up with fandoms, and became a force

Fans who were girls in the era of Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight are now the women who have powered the success of Barbie and the Eras Tour. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2024-02-18 19:51:27 UTC ]
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ABC warns staff of agenda-driven criticism after News Corp pounces on Aboriginal land comment | The Weekly Beast

Newsroom director decries The Australian’s ‘constant’ swipes at individual ABC employees. Plus: a mushroom misstepFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastWhen the ABC Indigenous affairs editor, Bridget... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-02-16 02:50:06 UTC ]
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TikTokers help drive Sarah J Maas ‘romantasy’ boom for Bloomsbury

Publisher tells investors profits will exceed expectations, attributing this to release of House of Flame and Shadow The publisher Bloomsbury has lifted its annual profit forecasts after the latest novel from the fantasy author Sarah J Maas topped bestseller lists across the world, aided by fans... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-02-14 13:36:52 UTC ]
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Breaking Traditions: Gen Z and Millennial Women Transform Super Bowl

Women have always watched the Super Bowl, with Nielsen reporting that in 2018, women made up nearly half of Super Bowl viewers--surpassing the combined female viewership of the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys. Brands, marketers and the NFL have begun to embrace female... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2024-02-08 21:53:41 UTC ]
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Pulitzer-Winning Critic to Publish Book About Reality TV

An award-winning critic chronicles the rise of reality TV, a Virginia bill would ban book bans by school boards, and more news today in books. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-02-07 16:10:04 UTC ]
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Finalists for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Awards Announced

The Finalists for 2024 National Book Critics Circle Awards were announced today. They include books published in 2023. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-25 15:20:11 UTC ]
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