Social media-driven reader backlash can force publishers to cancel, delay, or revise books before wide release. Bloom Books canceled Sparrow and Vine after advance copies prompted criticism over a character perceived as racist, MAGA-coded, and admiring Elon Musk; the author issued an Instagram statement, apologized, and promised revisions and closer attention to sensitivity readers. Elizabeth Gilbert indefinitely delayed The Snow Forest after one-star Goodreads reviews protested its Russian setting amid the Ukraine invasion. Amélie Wen Zhao delayed Blood Heir, apologized, and revised the novel with sensitivity readers after accusations that its slavery depiction was racially insensitive and appropriative.
Earlier this year, Bloom Books canceled the release of best-selling author Sophie Lark's new romance novel, Sparrow and Vine. The decision came after advance copies met an online backlash regarding a character readers argued was racist, MAGA-coded, and fangirled over Elon Musk (persona non grata of the progressive left for, well, obvious reasons). In response, Lark posted a statement on Instagram.
Another example: In 2023, Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love fame, decided to indefinitely delay her novel The Snow Forest. The story followed a Russian family ostracized from society in 1930s Soviet Russia. The unreleased book garnered a slew of one-star reviews on Goodreads from readers upset over its setting and characters in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Let's do one more: In 2019, Amélie Wen Zhao's then-unreleased novel, Blood Heir, ignited a firestorm when online influencers accused the book of being " anti-black." Complaints included that the fantasy story's depiction of a slavery system not based on skin color was racially insensitive and amounted to cultural appropriation. Zhao issued an apology for the pain and harm she caused. She also delayed the publication of her novel to revise it with the help of sensitivity readers. (It was released later that year.)
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