I am Young Adult and Middle Grade author Barbara Binns, writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. As my tagline says, I write Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.
This is part 1 of a two-part post on Diverse Writing. You can read part 2, with tips for writing diverse characters and cultures, by clicking HERE
This month, Romancing The Genres will present tips for writing authentic diverse characters on weekends. In fact, I will be doing a post this Saturday, March 16. Currently, social media is operating in viral mode about a resent YA book involving the intersection of several layers of diversity. Some are calling the viral Twitter messages a mob attack that all authors should fear.
Mr. Jackson is an #ownvoice, black, gay, and his book has a black, gay, non-Muslim American teen as the protagonist.
School Library Journal considered A Place For Wolves a starred book. Nevertheless, the historical thriller was pulled last month following a negative Goodreads review that led to a barrage of twitter attacks. Mr. Jackson and his book had received starred reviews from major reviewers. Interestingly, Mr. Jackson was a well-known and respected sensitivity reader. The reviewer who read a pre-release arc claimed – “I’ve never been so disgusted in my life.” She went on to detail issues with the importance of the plight of the Americans over the genocide of Muslim Albanians and placing one of those Muslim men as the stories terrorist villain.
Commenters on Twitter and Facebook discuss the possible harm this book could do to real people. The book is set in the Kosovo war in the 1990’s. It focuses on the suffering and fear of two non-Muslim American boys with little regard for the genocide suffered by the Albanian Muslims of Kosovo. And it makes a Albanian Muslim the terrorist villain.
The author apologized, stating
I failed to fully understand the people and the conflict that I set around my characters.I call that the issue. Not the power of twitter, but the failure to understand. Without that, there would never have been a mob. Some have called the attack on this book a witch hunt. I think it's a sign that no one is immune from backlash if they use problem tropes and engage in cultural appropriation.
Of course people make mistakes. I almost made one myself, was on the verge of creating a stereotypical womanizing, hard drinking black male. Thank God for critique partners, since all I really wanted was for my protagonist to have a relative who drank too much and not be a caricature. I was able to catch the issue in time and re-write before arcs went out and reviewers got their hands on the book.
Many authors view are viewing this action with fear. Especially while writing the story of his or her heart. They want the "exotic" character or culture without having to think about the implications that may have to readers. Existing groups and cultures have exiting human being who are part of it, and who may be hurt if the facts of that culture are misused. In this day of social media, those readers have the ability to voice their displeasure.
I called this post Market Correction for a reason. Some writers are running cared, fearing the comments on Social Media and calling this "censorship." Had this book been published, and then the government told the publisher/author to withdraw it because of concerns about the depiction of Muslim-American relationships, I would agree that that was censorship. But in this case, it was the market itself that spoke up and issued a correction. Just like an overvalued stock may decline after investors realize there are reasons to withdraw their money. In this case readers and their followers voiced their displeasure and were heard. I don't feel scared about that.
Note, on Saturday I will be back to provide some tips to help authors avoid these kinds of problems in the first place. For now, feel free to ask questions in the comments and I will look at including those in the March 16th post.
PS - here is a link to the apology Kosoko Jackson posted on twitter when he removed A Place For Wolves from publication:
From me to the Book Community: I'm Sorry. pic.twitter.com/sFXQAlQCk9— Kosoko Jackson (@KosokoJackson) February 28, 2019
5 comments:
I was in Croatia during The Balkan War and met refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Kosova and Serbia, It was a difficult time to say the least. We are at a point in our histories where we are learning about the deep roots of stereotypes, prejudices and fear of "others." Thank you for sharing this story. I'm looking forward to reading your Saturday post.
My only question is, when is it ever okay to show the reality of a situation. In my case, I returned to the area a few years after the war to present a workshop at an international conference. I was not well received because I talked about to have peace, one side or the other (if not both) must give up revenge. My audience bombarded me with scenarios of atrocities. The idea of not seeking revenge was not something they could accept then and perhaps not even now..
I see families, especially African-American families after a death of a family member, ask people to show their outrage or support in non-violent demonstrations. While I never condone the shooting, I am always impressed by their determination to be a part of the solution or at least what I see as the solution.
Great post, B. A. I've seen vague references to the controversy, and your explanation was helpful.
I understand #ownvoices authors should have the opportunity to write their own stories about diverse main characters. Is it a good idea for white writers to have diverse supporting characters instead (assuming they do their research and such to make them authentic as possible)?
Judith, from the sound of it the book was primarily showing the danger that the two American boys were in over there. It did not show the reality for the residents, only used the setting to place the boys in trouble. That was one of the big issues, that the reality was glossed over.
Here's what the first reviewer said : Honestly, reading this felt like the author wanted to set a book in a situation where he could put his MCs at risk and in danger, but he didn’t want to write fantasy, so he decided to set it during the Kosovan genocide. Why do I say this? Because this wasn’t a respectful exploration of a tragedy that really happened. It was all about the MCs, and how scared we are for them, and how much we hope they get out okay so they can return to America and be safe.
Add in the fact that he chose to make the educated Muslim professor the stereotypical Muslim terrorist endangering the non-Muslim American boys.
It would be like centering a story on a middle-class white man temporarily stranded in Flint Michigan in need of a drink of water and the problems he has in finding some that is not contaminated while ignoring anything the people who live in Flint and are struggling to raise children with contaminated water have to face.
I really appreciate you taking the time respond to my comment, BA. I hadn't realized he'd really not conveyed any of the terror of the times. The Minister who headed up the services for Torture Survivors. POW and Displaced People spoke at our conference. While I knew from what the people I'd met were facing, the reality struck even deeper when he spoke. Being there during the war and talking to people newly arrived at the conference from active war zones was a life changing experience for me. It still dumbfounds me how we can be so hateful and cruel to one another. If one believes the DNA testing, we call came from one mother in Africa thousands of years ago.
Thank you for bringing up this incident. I had not heard of it, but then I don't track children's books at all. What a learning experience!
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