Last year, young adult author Amélie Wen Zhao sold the publication rights for her debut novel in a six figure deal. A year later, she’s now asked her publisher to halt the release of her novel, Blood Heir, following criticism of her handling of race and slavery. Blood Heir is a re-imagining of the story of Anastasia and was originally scheduled to be published this Summer in June.
However, in a statement released by the author on Twitter, in was announced that the book is being put on hold for the time being following a backlash from those who felt the book was bigoted and racially insensitive. Zhao’s post reads: “It was never my intention to bring harm to any reader of this valued community, particularly those for whom I seek to write and empower … I don’t wish to clarify, defend or have anyone defend me. This is not that; this is an apology.” She added that she was “grateful to those who have raised questions around representation, coding, and themes in my book.”
As The Guardian reports, despite originally receiving strong reviews, some readers began calling out what they saw as racist undertones in the novel. One reader wrote: “the anti-blackness and blatant bigotry in this book,” and went on to criticise its depiction of slavery, as well as the death of a particular black character.
Zhao was born and raised in Beijing and emigrated to the United States at the age of 18. She said she wrote the book “from my immediate cultural perspective,” writing that the slavery storylines in the novel “represent a specific critique of the epidemic of indentured labour and human trafficking prevalent in many industries across Asia, including in my own home country. The narrative and history of slavery in the US is not something I can, would, or intended to write, but I recognise that I am not writing in merely my own cultural context.”
On her website, Zhao wrote that she’d aimed to create “a diverse cast, many of which are beloved and dear to a third-culture kid like myself … a tawny-skinned minority of a Russian-esque princess; a disowned and dishonoured Asian-esque assassin; an islander/Caribbean-esque child warrior; a Middle-Eastern-esque soldier.”
She added: “I write fantasy, but my story draws inspiration from themes I see in the real world today. As a foreigner in Trump’s America, I’ve been called names and faced unpleasant remarks – and as a non-citizen, I’ve felt like I have no voice – which is why I’ve channelled my anger, my frustration, and my need for action into the most powerful weapon I have: my words.”
The news has been met with mixed opinions. Some have praised her for cancelling the publication while others have urged her not to submit to what they called “bullying”. Her publisher, Random House, told The New York Times: “We respect Amélie’s decision, and look forward to continuing our publishing relationship with her.”
Poisonous books removed from the National Library of France
Book Returned to Scottish Library 73 Years Late
Librarian discovers cash inside book returned 53 years late
//
//
Unbelievable. People need to stand up to PC Nazis. That’s the only way this atrocious type of bullying will end.