New Report From PEN America: “Booklash: Literary Freedom, Online Outrage, and the Language of Harm”

From PEN America:

In a new report, Booklash: Literary Freedom, Online Outrage, and the Language of Harm, PEN America warns that social media blowback and societal outrage are imposing new moral litmus tests on books and authors, chilling literary expression and fueling a dangerous trend of self-censorship that is shrinking writers’ creative freedom and imagination.

Offering a forceful defense of the freedom to imagine, write, and publish, PEN America, the premier free expression and writers organization, implores stakeholders across the literary community – including publishers, authors, institutions and readers –  to be zealous guardians of literary freedom and to avoid giving in to pressure to pull books because of content that some consider offensive.

The report argues that book withdrawals in the face of criticism–though relatively rare—have ripple effects, shrinking the space for risk-taking in literature and circumscribing what future books will be proposed and signed. The report states. “As a society we need to be able to engage in free debate about books without resorting to denying readers the opportunity to read them and come to their own conclusions.”

In addition, the report rejects “an identity-essentialist approach to literature: that writers can only responsibly tell the stories that relate to their own identity and experiences.” Such an approach is incompatible with the freedom to imagine that is essential for literary creation, PEN America argues.

[Clip]

In the report, PEN America cautions publishers against giving in to newly-drawn lines that restrict the space for the writer’s prerogative to imagine and create literature: “It is imperative that the literary field chart a course that advances diversity and equity without making these values a cudgel against specific books or writers deemed to fall short in these areas.”

[Clip]

This report is PEN America’s latest in-depth examination of the publishing industry; its 2022 report Reading Between the Lines: Race, Equity, and Book Publishing, found deep and persistent obstacles to bringing more titles by authors of color to commercial success and exposed a broad range of systemic shortcomings in fostering a diverse and inclusive approach to publishing.

Direct to Full Text Report

Direct to Complete News Release

Filed under: Companies (Publishers/Vendors), News, Publishing