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?'


Poetry Foundation Responds to Criticism, Pledges Action

The staff and board of the Poetry Foundation said in an open letter that they are committed to "ongoing action in response to the call to dismantle white supremacy." The pledge came after an open letter highly critical of the Foundation's past treatment of marginalized was released and led to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #poetry foundation #board chair #open letter


Black Bookstore Selling Out of Books For First Time in 30 Years: Critical Linking, June 14, 2020

An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-14 10:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #critical linking #bookstore


The Problem With All The Books Publishing This Fall: Critical Linking, June 10, 2020

A daily roundup of the most interesting and awesome bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-10 10:30:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #critical linking #daily roundup #books publishing


EIC’s at Bon Appétit and Refinery29 Resign Amid Criticism

[caption id="attachment_181520" align="alignright" width="171"] Adam Rapoport[/caption] Adam Rapoport, editor-in-chief at Bon Appétit since 2010, is stepping down from that role after a photo of him in an offensive Halloween costume resurfaced online Monday amid allegations from current and... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-06-09 15:00:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hey @refinery29 #$400 million #eventually return #eller apologized #sinha-roy accused #hollywood reporter #freelance journalist #hiring freeze #wide range #original mission #divergent points #immediately begin #transitionary period #barberich implied #statement monday


Refinery29 EIC Steps Down After Former Staffers Allege “Toxic” Culture

[caption id="attachment_103803" align="alignright" width="164"] Christene Barberich[/caption] Refinery29 co-founder Christene Barberich is stepping down from her role as global editor-in-chief of the 15 year-old women's lifestyle site to make way for a replacement, she revealed on Instagram... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-06-08 17:01:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hey @refinery29 #$400 million #eventually return #eller apologized #sinha-roy accused #hollywood reporter #freelance journalist #hiring freeze #wide range #original mission #divergent points #immediately begin #transitionary period #barberich implied


Black-Owned Bookstore Offers “Ally Box” Book Subscription: Critical Linking, June 5, 2020

An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-05 10:30:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #critical linking #bookstore


In an age of cancellations and quarantine, people are turning to Twitter for connections — and premium content

Each year around this time, digital publishers and tech platforms announce their content plans for the year ahead. These annual upfront and NewFronts pitches are a bid to partner with agencies and advertisers to reassemble audiences across the ever-changing video landscape. That process will... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2020-05-28 01:23:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #year ahead #premium content #digital publishers


Helen Monks Takhar | 'I started to get really angry about the hate narrative against Millennials in the mainstream press'

The end of catcalls during her jogs caused an unexpected epiphany for journalist-turned-author Helen Monks Takhar. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-22 16:20:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mainstream press


Trade 'baffled' by exclusion from Cultural Renewal Taskforce

The government has announced a Cultural Renewal Taskforce to help the creative sector bounce back from the coronavirus crisis—but book trade leaders have said they are "baffled" that no current representative of the industry has been appointed. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-21 02:08:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book trade


A radically different view of animal cultures

“Becoming Wild” shows us that humans are much more intrinsically linked to other species than we realize. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-14 07:24:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Oregon Coast Bookstore Gives Away Thousands of Books: Critical Linking, May 8, 2020

An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-05-08 10:30:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #critical linking #bookstore


AHRC launches pandemic culture campaign

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is to explore the impact of culture during the Covid-19 pandemic via a new campaign, Boundless Creativity. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-07 09:18:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #covid-19 pandemic


Jennifer Weiner’s ‘Big Summer’ is a breezy romp through online influencer culture

While other book releases are being pushed back, “Big Summer” was moved up, because it’s just the escape we need right now. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-05 14:14:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Bloody Scotland International Crime Festival cancelled

This year's Bloody Scotland International Crime Festival has been cancelled, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-29 02:03:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #covid-19 pandemic


MIBA Cancels Spring Forum, GLIBA Donates to #SaveIndieBookstores

The Midwest Independent Booksellers Association has officially canceled its spring forum road trip to Bayfield, Wisc., on June 1-2, while the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association has donated $5,000 to #SaveIndieBookstores. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: ##saveindiebookstores #booksellers association


This Italian HARRY POTTER Cover Is Quite the Choice: Critical Linking, April 24, 2020

An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-04-24 10:30:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #critical linking #harry potter


ALA Announces Virtual Option for Canceled Annual Conference

The event, dubbed ALA Virtual—Community Through Connection, will offer "educational programming, special author events, and social networking" and is set to run from June 24-26, 2020. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #educational programming #social networking


Hotels Share Favorite Travel Stories for World Book Day: Critical Linking, April 23, 2020

An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-04-23 10:30:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #critical linking #world book


Frankfurter Buchmesse Responds to News of Oktoberfest’s Cancellation

The decision on Oktoberfest in Munich brings into question Frankfurter Buchmesse may proceed. The trade show's organizers hope to have news by mid-June. The post Frankfurter Buchmesse Responds to News of Oktoberfest’s Cancellation appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-21 18:37:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trade show #organizers hope #frankfurter buchmesse


How Future Adapted Commerce Content to Drive 1M Transactions in March

Magazine publisher Future Publishing has adapted its content over the last six weeks to be more helpful for readers. The Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-04-20 16:19:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #magazine publisher