PEN America is speaking out against publishers canceling books because of “social media blowback and societal outrage,” the literary nonprofit organization announced in a news release.
PEN issued a report titled Booklash: Literary Freedom, Online Outrage, and the Language of Harm, which condemns “new moral litmus tests on books and authors [that are] chilling literary expression and fueling a dangerous trend of self-censorship that is shrinking writers’ creative freedom and imagination.”
Some social media users, the report says, “have argued that ‘problematic’ books or authors deserve special censure from the literary world—with ‘problematic’ being a catchall term ranging from an author accused of committing a crime to one who relies on lazy narrative conventions.”
PEN notes that book controversies have been common in the world of young adult literature, with critics urging the cancellation of titles including Nicola Yoon’s Everything, Everything; Laura Moriarty’s American Heart; and Sarah J. Maas’ Court of Thorns and Roses series.
In the report, PEN America’s president, Ayad Akhtar, writes, “We believe that it is possible to move boldly forward for equity in publishing without disavowing individual books and applying new moral litmus tests to stanch ideas deemed offensive.”
Akhtar also said in a statement, “I hope that this report will give publishers, authors, and commentators new ways to think about what we should be doing to support a healthier literary culture. Questions about harm, stereotypes, and representation, are important—but they shouldn’t create an atmosphere where they become an excuse for suppression of speech.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
