Your Daily Outrage

Barnes & Noble has shelved their plans to release a collection of classic books with new culturally diverse covers following an internet backlash.

Penguin Random House and Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue had given twelve classic young adult novels new covers, known as Diverse Editions. The books were meant hit the shelves on Feb. 5, and the books were to be on display in their massive storefront throughout the month of February.

Each title had five culturally diverse custom covers designed to ensure the recognition, representation, and inclusion of various multiethnic backgrounds reflected across the country.

Following the news of the new covers, many Twitter users expressed their anger and disappointment over the situation. Example tweets were:

Jesus. Slapping cartoon POC on books by white folks when the words within those books don't promote anything but the white narrative isn't diversity. Diversity is giving POC equal opportunity to be published in a predominately white marketplace. Do better.

slapping Brown faces onto white stories is insulting. if #barnesandnoble wants to promote diversity, why not just promote classics written by diverse authors? they exist!

Barnes & Noble released a statement on Twitter acknowledging the concerns of the public and ultimately cancelling the release event at the store.

We acknowledge the voices who have expressed concerns about the Diverse Editions project at our Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue store and have decided to suspend the initiative.

Diverse Editions presented new covers of classic hooks through a series of limited-edition jackets, designed by artists hailing from different ethnicities and backgrounds. The covers are not a substitute for black voices or writers of color, whose work and voices deserve to be heard.

The booksellers who championed this initiative did so convinced it would help drive engagement with these classic titles. It was a project inspired by our work with schools and was created in part to raise awareness and discussion during Black History Month, in which Barnes & Noble stores nationally will continue to highlight a wide selection of books to celebrate black history and great literature from writers of color.

The publisher of Jeanine Cummins' new novel American Dirt has cancelled the remainder of her promotional tour as a result of a politically correct backlash.

The novel about a Mexican mother and her young son fleeing to the US border had been praised widely before its 21 January release and was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club.

But PC bullies who think they have the right to tell others what stories they can write have campaigned against the book for wrong think. Mexican American writers have claimed that the book contains  stereotypical depictions of Mexicans.

Julissa Arce Raya, the author of My (Underground) American Dream, argued American Dirt was not representative of her experience as an undocumented immigrant in America. Author Celeste Ng shared a review calling Cummins' depictions of Mexico laughably inaccurate. Roxane Gay deplored Oprah's decision to elevate the novel.

Bob Miller, president of the book's publisher, Flatiron Books commented:

Jeanine Cummins spent five years of her life writing this book with the intent to shine a spotlight on tragedies facing immigrants. We are saddened that a work of fiction that was well-intentioned has led to such vitriolic rancor.

Unfortunately, our concerns about safety have led us to the difficult decision to cancel the book tour.

Flatiron now plans to send Cummins to town-hall style events, where the author will be joined by some of the groups who have raised objections to the book.

 

Offsite Comment: The offencerati just got a book tour cancelled

2nd February 2020. See article from spiked-online.com