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Well-known non-profit organization PEN America has published a report that warns the literary community against book cancellation due to outrage. In the report, they have highlighted the fact that social media backlash is encouraging moral standards for the publishers/authors and preventing their creative freedom as well as imagination. The organization has urged the literary world to keep their literary freedom intact and stop taking down books due to the opinionated view of some readers who find the content offensive.
In the report, they mentioned how pulling books due to criticism can prevent risk-taking in literature while also affecting future book approvals. The report was created after months of research and conversations with authors/editors in the literary world who have been the victim of book withdrawal/cancellation. It’s also based on the heated controversies that happened in the last eight years.
The introduction, that’s written by President Ayad Akhtar, rejects the “identity-essentialist approach to literature” and the fact that writers should only tell stories related to their own experiences and identity. Such approaches prevent “the freedom to imagine”, that’s important for the literary world.
“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.” writes Akhtar in the report.
Additionally, PEN America warns the publishers not to restrict the freedom of writers or their prerogative to “imagine or create literature”. They have further stressed on promoting diversity in the literary world without attacking the professionals who fail to meet the standards.
The Booklash report also recommends platforms like GoodReads to set new protocols where the reviewers should post a review only after reading the books that they are commenting about. With this, there will be less likelihood of review-bombing, which is responsible for harming book sales lately in the industry.
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