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glitter_n_goreTHIS IS NOT A JOKE. I say that only because I know what day it is, and I want y'all to know that I'm not kidding.
There is an upcoming anthology called "Wicked Pretty Things" in the paranormal YA umbrella, which, if you don't follow these things, is hot right now. The anthology, as I understand it, calls for fairy stories with a theme of the macabre and a touch of romance.
One of the authors, Jessica Verday of the Hollow Trilogy, contributed a story in which the romance was boy/boy. Editor Trisha Telep asked her to change one thing, and one thing only: the gender of one of the characters. Verday instead decided to withdraw the story entirely, and then blogged about her reasons why. Twice.
The YA community exploded. And I am exploding in solidarity with them. More authors, on finding out about what happened to Verday, withdrew their stories from the same anthology, including Seanan McGuire, Brenna Yovanoff and others. And then! More authors, not just in that anthology, but others, which were being handled by the same editor, pulled their stories out too--among them Ann Aguirre and Stacia Kane.
And THEN urban fantasy/mystery superstar Charlaine Harris HERSELF dropped a "hats off to you" in the comments Ms. Verday's original blog post, for sticking to her guns.
Ms. Telep has now issued a formal apology, but what strikes me about this isn't so much the homophobic faux pas of the editor. It's the huge network of support that sprung up around Verday when she announced her departure, and her reasons for it. I'll be the first to admit I'm not always up on politics, but I do pay attention to the LGBT circuit, and I pay attention to the literary world, especially the YA, paranormal, horror and urban fantasy sectors. This is the biggest outcry against intolerance of this nature that I've seen. It is exciting, it gives me hope, and I want to support every single one of these authors in any way I can.
These are the authors currently throwing in their lot with Ms. Verday, and what they all had to say about the situation:
Stacia Kane: Elder Griffin Is Gay
Andrew Smith: In Which the Unemployment Rate Increases
Caitlin Kittridge (posting as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
blackaire): The quickest way to effect a positive change is to hit them in their profit margin.
Saundra Mitchell: Old Dog, New Tricks
Brenna Yovanoff: This is Not a Post About Sunshine
Ann Aguirre: Brave New Love, not for me
Lesley Livingston: In Brief...
Karen Mahoney: Friday update: WPT Anthology
Lisa Mantchev: A note from the management
Melissa Marr: My NAME is in the cover copy
Seanan McGuire: Reasons for withdrawal: why I have pulled out of WICKED PRETTY THINGS
...and the list keeps growing.
Dedicated YA bloggerscleolinda, and Celidh of the The Sparkle Project, are covering further developments. I did my part by A) creating this blog post and hopefully making more people aware of what's going on, and B) putting my Borders bucks to good use by supporting Verday and a couple others who have spoken out on her behalf.
There is an upcoming anthology called "Wicked Pretty Things" in the paranormal YA umbrella, which, if you don't follow these things, is hot right now. The anthology, as I understand it, calls for fairy stories with a theme of the macabre and a touch of romance.
One of the authors, Jessica Verday of the Hollow Trilogy, contributed a story in which the romance was boy/boy. Editor Trisha Telep asked her to change one thing, and one thing only: the gender of one of the characters. Verday instead decided to withdraw the story entirely, and then blogged about her reasons why. Twice.
The YA community exploded. And I am exploding in solidarity with them. More authors, on finding out about what happened to Verday, withdrew their stories from the same anthology, including Seanan McGuire, Brenna Yovanoff and others. And then! More authors, not just in that anthology, but others, which were being handled by the same editor, pulled their stories out too--among them Ann Aguirre and Stacia Kane.
And THEN urban fantasy/mystery superstar Charlaine Harris HERSELF dropped a "hats off to you" in the comments Ms. Verday's original blog post, for sticking to her guns.
Ms. Telep has now issued a formal apology, but what strikes me about this isn't so much the homophobic faux pas of the editor. It's the huge network of support that sprung up around Verday when she announced her departure, and her reasons for it. I'll be the first to admit I'm not always up on politics, but I do pay attention to the LGBT circuit, and I pay attention to the literary world, especially the YA, paranormal, horror and urban fantasy sectors. This is the biggest outcry against intolerance of this nature that I've seen. It is exciting, it gives me hope, and I want to support every single one of these authors in any way I can.
These are the authors currently throwing in their lot with Ms. Verday, and what they all had to say about the situation:
Stacia Kane: Elder Griffin Is Gay
Andrew Smith: In Which the Unemployment Rate Increases
Caitlin Kittridge (posting as
blackaire): The quickest way to effect a positive change is to hit them in their profit margin.Saundra Mitchell: Old Dog, New Tricks
Brenna Yovanoff: This is Not a Post About Sunshine
Ann Aguirre: Brave New Love, not for me
Lesley Livingston: In Brief...
Karen Mahoney: Friday update: WPT Anthology
Lisa Mantchev: A note from the management
Melissa Marr: My NAME is in the cover copy
Seanan McGuire: Reasons for withdrawal: why I have pulled out of WICKED PRETTY THINGS
...and the list keeps growing.
Dedicated YA bloggers
cleolinda, and Celidh of the The Sparkle Project, are covering further developments. I did my part by A) creating this blog post and hopefully making more people aware of what's going on, and B) putting my Borders bucks to good use by supporting Verday and a couple others who have spoken out on her behalf.