A New Kind Of Censorship: One-Star Bigotry on Goodreads

Have you heard about what's been happening to debut YA author Laura Silverman @LJSilverman1 ? (This Huffington Post article by Claire Fallon, Neo-Nazi Trump Supporters Are Going After YA Books Now is a good catch-up.)

Laura's book, Girl Out Of Water (May 2017, Sourcebooks Fire) isn't out yet. The review copies aren't out yet. But suddenly the book's goodreads account had more than 1,500 ratings of the book. The book that almost NONE OF THEM, unless they were personal friends with the author, could have possibly read.

At first, the pile-on was of haters, and one-star reviews, including one that said she was "literally worse than Hitler." Laura sounded the alarm,

And then many people (including some famous authors) added their supportive 5-star reviews. As of this writing, the book's goodreads page had over 1,750 ratings and 506 reviews. And a 4.77 rating.

The Huffington Post article stated that according to Kathryn Lynch, a publicist at Sourcebooks, "Goodreads was able to remove the troll reviews and ratings by early this week."

Is this the new battleground for censorship? And is the response by a community trying to support an author under attack by adding their own 5-star reviews diluting the whole purpose of a community-based book review site? Is the real culprit the anonymous element, that people can create goodreads accounts not tied to their actual identities, and do so just to attack people like Laura?

I don't profess to have all the answers. But as we observe #BannedBooksWeek and celebrate the freedom to read, it's clear that these questions are something our community needs to engage with.

Illustrate and Write On,

Lee

ps - Goodreads did not respond to a request for comment.

Amazon buys Goodreads - three views of what that means

The recent purchase of Goodreads by Amazon has made for some fascinating analysis:

Andrew Rhomberg at Digital Book World looks at the social strength of goodreads and predicts the major changes we can expect in the aftermath of this acquisition.

Jordan Weissmann at The Atlantic focuses on the 'superfans' that Amazon just acquired, with some wild statistics about how 19% of Americans do 79% of our non-required book reading (and many more figures and charts.)

And on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, host Scott Simon discussed the purchase with Wall Street Journal reporter Greg Bensinger, looking at issues of privacy and how some goodreads members have said they're not going to stay hooked into the social network once it is part of amazon.


Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

In the News This Week

Fridays on the SCBWI blog, I share snippets of and links to some of the publishing/media-related news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun.


This week's news includes a new YA imprint at Whitman, essays on boys reading and diet books for little girls, new words in Webster and the OED, a favorite piece on Steve Jobs (who, you may have heard, is stepping down), KidLit Con and Borders-related charity, and more.


Albert Whitman Takes on Teens with New Imprint (PW)
Founded in 1919, Albert Whitman publishes a range of children’s books, including board books, picture books, and middle-grade fiction, notably Gertrude Chandler Warner’s The Boxcar Children Mysteries and The Boxcar Children Graphic Novels. With last month’s launch of Albert Whitman Teen, the Chicagoland publisher has expanded its offerings to include young-adult books. The inaugural releases are Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera, a novel set six months after 9/11 that centers on a teen who finds himself incarcerated as an “enemy combatant”; and Michael Ford’s The Poisoned House, a ghost story that takes place in Victorian London. Guantanamo Boy was selected for the ABA’s summer 2011 Kids’ Indie Next List.

Children's Store to Open in Katonah, N.Y.  (PW)
Borders’s loss is proving to be indies’ gain. With the closing of a Borders in Mt. Kisco, Jennifer Cook, owner of NoKa Joe’s in Katonah, N.Y., has decided to take the plunge and turn the 650 sq. ft. second floor into a children’s specialty bookstore in October.

Was Steve Jobs really Apple’s editor-in-chief? (The Cutline) 
For those who've followed Apple, casually or compulsively, Steve Job's resignation as chief executive on Wednesday was not unexpected. But the announcement was nonetheless met with a mixture of shock and sadness.

Boys and Reading: Is There Any Hope? (NY Times)
At an American Library Association conference in 2007, HarperCollins dressed five of its male young adult authors in blue baseball jerseys with our names on the back and sent us up to bat in a panel entitled “In the Clubhouse.” We were meant to demystify to the overwhelmingly female audience the testosterone code that would get teenage boys reading. Whereas boys used to lag behind girls in reading in the early grades, statistics show, they soon caught up. Not anymore.

Do Little Girls Need Diet Books? (Salon)
It's the kind of aspirational image familiar from women's magazines and yogurt ads--a frumpy girl standing before the mirror, holding up the outfit she longs to fit into, dreaming of the smiling, slim version of herself waiting on the other side. But this isn't some Slim-Fast pitch or another Bikini Body by Friday! morning show segment. It's the cover of a children's book.

GoodReads Launches New iPad App (eBook Newser)
The online book community GoodReads has just made it a little easier for you to share your book interests with other fans. GoodReads uploaded a new version of its app to iTunes a few days ago and it finally supports the iPad.

New Words in Merriam-Webster Dictionary Include 'Tweet,' 'Fist Bump' (CNS News)
Merriam-Webster Inc. has added dozens of entries to the latest edition of its Collegiate Dictionary. Here are some, along with the year in which Merriam-Webster researchers first found them used in an English-language publication, and their meanings: 

Retweet & Sexting Are Now Words In Oxford English Dictionary (Mashable)
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary has added 400 words to its dictionary, including retweet, woot, sexting and cyberbullying. The 12th edition of the dictionary is a recognition that modern technology and social media have greatly impacted the English language. Retweet, the act of resharing a message on Twitter, is our favorite addition, though sexting and woot are a close second and third.

new Study Reveals Kids Who Read More are Better Readers (eBook Newser)
he UK based National Literacy Trust has recently released a the results of a study. After testing over 18 thousand children in the UK, the Trust concluded that the ones who read more books each month were also better readers.

  

KidLit Con Partners with RIF (GalleyCat) 
KidLit Con has launched a fundraising partnership with Reading is Fundamental (RIF).
Earlier this year, we reported that the federal budget for RIF has been reduced. With the new partnership, readers can donate to the childhood literacy program in the name of KidLit Con. Follow this link for more details about how to make a donation.

Mementos of Borders, for Charity (Shelf Awareness) [scroll down]
Just in case you had a particular bond with your local branch of Borders, here's an opportunity to gain a souvenir of the fast-fading bookstore chain and do some good, too.

Participate in Random Acts of Publicity Week September 7-10

"In the publishing industry, it’s so easy to get into the 'Me' mentality," says author Darcy Pattison. "Read my book, read my blog, come to my book signing, etc. I found myself doing this last year and didn’t like myself."

So Darcy said took a step back to look around and consider all the fellow authors and illustrators she knew who had books that deserved great reviews. Thinking about the philosophy of Pay It Forward, she got the idea to initiate a week of Random Acts of Publicity during which she would encourage fellow book creators to help publicize one another's work. "The model is to do a kindness for others, not expecting anything in return," she says.

Read on to learn more about it RAoP which takes place September 7-10, visit Darcy's website for additional info, and click here to pledge your participation in the event via Facebook. 

It's the second year fro Random Acts of Publicity--how did it get started?

Borrowing the idea of Random Acts of Kindness, I wondered what a week of random acts of publicity would look like.

First, the timing. The Christmas season is a time when book sales soar right along with toy sales. The competition is fierce, though, so our marketing efforts need to be in stellar condition. For example, on Amazon, books tend to do better if they have more reviews. And that’s something I can help another author with. By putting the Random Acts of Publicity the week after Labor Day, we’ll have plenty of time to help others get ready for the holiday shopping season.

Second, what to do during the week? Last year, I posted suggestions, focusing each day on a different way of helping others promote their works.

How else are you spreading the word about RAoP other than via Facebook. Is Facebook the best place for info?

The Random Acts of Publicity event on Facebook is a great place for information. Click here.

The week of the event, I’ll be posting suggestions about things to do on my blog and adding links to those posts on the Facebook events page. Others are welcome to suggest ideas or talk about what they are doing, too. Last year, the schedule went like this:

• Tuesday: Word of Mouth 
• Wednesday: Reviews 
• Thursday: Links 
• Friday: Social Media 

This year, it will be similar.

What if a person wants to do something, but doesn't have a lot of spare time?

Even the smallest Random Act of Publicity is welcome! There are no small acts of kindness, no small places to do it. If your blog only has five readers, it still helps to post a review of a friend’s book. If you have time to only click Become a Fan on a friend’s Goodreads page, it’s enough. It’s a welcome kindness.