Sensitivity readers

For centuries, fictional narratives have used outer difference to telegraph inner monstrosity. As someone who uses a wheelchair, I've learned you can't just edit out a few slurs or bad words to fix this - it's often baked deep into the story

The idea of editing Shakespeare to eliminate doubles entrendres and naughty words to fit in with 19th-century social mores now seems preposterous, although presumably his publishers-Messrs. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown-thought it was a pretty good idea at the time.  Read more

Handing down beloved books to your children is one of the best things about being a parent. And so like countless others raised on Willy Wonka's golden ticket and the BFG's jars of dreams, of course I was thrilled to relive the Roald Dahl books with my son all over again.  Read more

Under book publishing's trending best practices, historical authenticity can be secondary to appeasing people's sensitivities. I'm qualified to say this based on my recent experience as a literary agent on behalf of a client.

On 5 July Picador, which is part of the Pan MacmillanOne of largest fiction and non-fiction book publishers in UK; includes imprints of Pan, Picador and Macmillan Children’s Books conglomerate, announced that its publishing director, Philip Gwyn Jones, was stepping down "by mutual agreement" after two years in the role. Gwyn Jones, a respected publisher with long experience, had been criticised for his handling of a row over Kate Clanchy's memoir, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me.  Read more