Book News

A few angry parents have launched an attack against Aldi supermarkets in Australia for stocking a book about transgender children.

Led by mother Kathryn Woolley, the parents have commented on social media accounts of the retailer to chastise its decision to sell the short novel, The Boy in a Dress . Woolley wrote on Aldi's Facebook page:

Aldi 203 we are so very disappointed in your decision to stock a book within your store 203 relating to transgenderism in children!

We would ask that you reconsider your choice to sell it!

Family & children must be protected in times where there are those whose agenda is to groom & sexualise them!

We ask you to have a conscience in this matter!

The book is the debut novel of British comedian David Walliams and aims to promote diversity and challenge gender roles by telling the story of a twelve-year-old who likes to wear dresses and the reaction of his family and friends.

Banned Books Week 2017: Sept. 24 - Sept. 30

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community, librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers, in shared support of the freedom to seek and express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

Top Ten Most Challenged Books for 2016

Based on 323 challenges recorded by the Office for Intellectual Freedom

•   This One Summer written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
  Reasons: challenged because it includes LGBT characters, drug use and profanity, and it was considered sexually explicit with mature themes
• Drama written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
  Reasons: challenged because it includes LGBT characters, was deemed sexually explicit, and was considered to have an offensive political viewpoint
• George written by Alex Gino
  Reasons: challenged because it includes a transgender child, and the "sexuality was not appropriate at elementary levels"
• I Am Jazz written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
  Reasons: challenged because it portrays a transgender child and because of language, sex education, and offensive viewpoints
• Two Boys Kissing written by David Levithan
  Reasons: challenged because its cover has an image of two boys kissing, and it was considered to include sexually explicit LGBT content
• Looking for Alaska written by John Green
  Reasons: challenged for a sexually explicit scene that may lead a student to "sexual experimentation"
• Big Hard Sex Criminals written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Chip Zdarsky
  Reason: challenged because it was considered sexually explicit
• Make Something Up: Stories You Can't Unread written by Chuck Palahniuk
  Reasons: challenged for profanity, sexual explicitness, and being "disgusting and all around offensive"
• Little Bill (series) written by Bill Cosby and and illustrated by Varnette P. Honeywood
  Reason: challenged because of criminal sexual allegations against the author
• Eleanor & Park written by Rainbow Rowell
  Reason: challenged for offensive language

A number of authors have spoken out following the decision of a Russian publishing house to censor a gay storyline in a fantasy novel. The Russian publisher has admitted censoring a gay storyline in a popular fantasy novel series without permission from the US-based author.

Victoria Schwab is the author of the Shades of Magic series, which features a number of LGBT characters, including a bisexual prince who has a same-sex romance.

The bestselling books were translated into Russian as part of a deal with Russia-based publisher Rosmen and earlier this week Schwab said she was shocked to find out that a queer plot twist had been removed from the copy.

Schwab, who accused the publishing house of breaking contract, has now said she is seeking to terminate the deal. It would have been better not to publish the book at al

Publisher Rosmen has issued a statement admitting that it removed parts of the storyline from the novel. It said:

We only did this so that we wouldn't violate the ban on gay propaganda for minors. But we kept the romantic plotline as a whole.

John Sutherland is Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus of Modern English Literature at UCL. He wrote in the Guardian about the appranet 'banning' of Fanny Hill at Royal Holloway, University of London/ He wrote:

Many will have read the Fanny is banned story and thought: Those millennial nervous nellies, whatever next? My guess is that it is silly-season tosh. The book will be referred to, as necessary and instructive, but is not required reading. The professor who is alleged to have done the banning is Judith Hawley. I know her personally. She is the world's leading authority on Tristram Shandy, a novel thought so improper even Cleland called its author, Laurence Sterne, a pornographer.

Read the full article from theguardian.com

Now Judith Hawley, the academic associated with the 'ban' has responded in the Guardian saying that the 'ban' was misreported nonsense. She explained:

I didn't, as I was accused in the papers, remove Fanny Hill from the university course reading list for The Age of Oppositions, 1660-1780 following a consultation with students as the Times reported. It was never on the course, therefore it could not have been withdrawn ( or banned, as the Evening Standard put it ).

But she does go on to trying arguing that the academic environment of trigger words, no platforming and offence taking more an 'evolution' of free speech rather than reprehensible censorship. She said:

But it would be wrong to represent all current students as refusing to listen to views they don't want to hear. Rather, we could think about this in terms of an evolution in free speech. Students are raising questions about who has the right to speak, the right to determine the agenda, and calling for a diversity of writers to be taught.

See the full article from theguardian.com