UNACCEPTABLE

[anthimeria]

Apparently, manuscripts with LGBTQ, disabled, and/or nonwhite main characters regularly get rejected by agents--or rather, get accepted, as long as the protagonist becomes straight, able, and/or white.

Authors Say Agents Try to “Straighten” Gay Characters in YA

by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith

(Link goes to Publisher's Weekly blog, Genreville.)

Appalled is not too heavy a word to use for my reaction here.


ETA: minor link soup below.  I haven't read all these, but I intend to; this is mainly for my own reference.  Link soup will be edited again once I've had a chance to read about all sides of this, er, kerfluffle.

(also, I'm not re-linking the links in Elena's comment, but they're necessary reference, too.)

Cleolinda summarizes as of 9/16: http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/993710.html

http://www.yahighway.com/2011/09/field-trip-friday-special-edition.html

http://www.malindalo.com/2011/09/i-have-numbers-stats-on-lgbt-young-adult-books-published-in-the-u-s/

ETA part the second: Having read Cleolinda's roundup as well as Kate Hart's on YA Highway, I'd say go read both and see what you think.

There's a multitude of links in both places; IMO, Cleolinda's post comes off pro-authors and Hart's pro-agents, but both are pretty calm and the posts themselves attempt to present all sides and fend off derailment.  Both also admit their own biases, which I appreciate.

Right now, as angry as I'm sure the actual people involved in this are (and boy, if I was on either side I'd be "never speaking to you again" pissed), I think the internet-community's response so far as been "The issue is that we need more LGBTQ YA fiction, so put your money where your mouth is as readers/writers/agents/editors."

Which I agree with.  So.  Let's go do that, and hope the internet doesn't explode over the weekend.

9/19 ETA: Apparently the internet didn't explode, but via_ostiense  did a good job of articulating some problems with the solution "buy more books".  And also ephemere , on the concept of "just business".

oyceter  on everyone pulling in harness, instead of putting the entire burden on any one part of this equation, and also intersectionality, which is incredibly important to me because it is the basic way I  approach this sort of thing as a writer and a reader--not "which" minority identity, but "how many."

ETA again, more posts to read, mostly discussing issues brought up by this kerfluffle, and all are meaningful and interesting and contain links of the own:

http://qian.dreamwidth.org/33422.html

http://holyschist.dreamwidth.org/242731.html


http://utsusemia.livejournal.com/51649.html


http://deepad.dreamwidth.org/67143.html
(I'm definitely going to read all the comments on deepad's at some point when I have time, because recs and anti-recs are useful!)

Comments

[elenagleason.com]

There was a rebuttal posted by the agency in question today: http://theswivet.blogspot.com/2011/09/guest-blogger-joanna-stampfel-volpe.html

And then Sherwood Smith sort of rebutted the rebuttal: http://sartorias.livejournal.com/486626.html.

Basically, it seems that there was either a massive amount of miscommunication, or someone is lying. No way to tell.

[anthimeria]

I tend to err on the side of miscommunication, though from the summaries I've been reading, it seems a lot like the kind of miscommunication that happens when someone with privilege talks to someone without it/someone who actively works against theirs. I'm inclined to blame systematic oppression rather than personal--not that that makes any difference in the final effect.

Still following a bunch of conversations this spawned, though.