At a time when activist displeasure can sweep through social media and destabilize reputations and nascent careers overnight, publishers are taking unprecedented steps in an effort to mitigate the risks. Among these is the use of
sensitivity readers - individuals tasked with reading a work of fiction prior to publication in an effort to determine whether or not offense is likely to be caused by an author's portrayal of characters from demographics considered marginalised or historically oppressed. Many readers, I suspect, will have become aware of this emerging trend following a series of nasty controversies in the world of Young Adult publishing.
In 2017, a fantasy novel by Kiera Drake entitled
The Continent was attacked for its allegedly racist portrayal of Native Americans. The novel
was hastily rewritten following guidance from sensitivity readers. In January of this year, Amelie Zhao's debut novel
Blood Heir, set in a fantastical version of medieval Russia, was
denounced online because its portrayal of chattel slavery was deemed insufficiently sensitive to America's own racist history. In response, Zhao
thanked her persecutors profusely (a dismayingly common response) and explained that she would be withdrawing her novel from publication indefinitely. Like Drake, Zhao "sought feedback from scholars and sensitivity readers," made changes, and a new publication date for her novel
has just been announced. Weeks after Zhao withdrew her book,
A Place for Wolves, written by sensitivity reader Kosoko Jackson, was also withdrawn by its author following criticisms of his portrayal of an Albanian Muslim villain. It did not go unnoticed that Jackson had participated in the attacks on Zhao
. "The schadenfreude," one Twitter user observed, "is delicious."
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