Influencers and Arab authors are now taking international publishing houses with a grinch of salt. Given the significant role publishing plays in determining which books to be printed and propagated to the public, and which are overlooked, lies a hidden threat to Arabs and Muslims including Palestinian authors and readership that might directly or indirectly face racism and islamophobia of such publishing houses.
A Palestinian TikTok influencer Leen has called to attention the racist acts that St. Martin Publishing House has made. She has shared a story posted by one of the members of this publishing company that shows extremely derogatory remarks about Palestinian people and the militant group of Hamas.
This is seen with major publishing house St. Martin Press which has been called out for racist acts after a story posted by one of the members of this publishing company that shows extremely derogatory remarks about Palestinian people and the militant group of Hamas.
The story included Islamophobic remarks, accusing Palestinian minority groups of double standards for supporting “Hamas” and believing “made up lies” about their “oppressor.” In other posts, the same employee repeatedly accused Palestinian people and their supporters of lying or faking news.
As a response, she wrote an open letter calling out the actions of St. Martin Press, who are responsible for Macmillan, Minotaur Books, Wednesday Books, and Castle Point Books. The letter is also asking St. Martin to denounce the Islamophobic remarks of their employee and address how they will support Muslims including authors, and influencers in the future.
@vivafalastinleen racism in publishing is nothing new but this kind of hatred has shocked even me with its severity and insistence. we should all refuse to accept this behavior
Now there are also concerns about foreign public houses, considering their huge role in defining the readership; some claims raised to the surface about them being whitewashed, inflicting a racist ideology against Arabs. Such calls for creating a safe space for Arab and Muslim authors and readership in foreign publishing houses share a long history that is not limited to the current situation in Gaza.
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