A week after author Roxane Guy pulled her next book from Simon & Schuster over its decision to publish right-wing firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos, Hillary Clinton has signed with the same publisher for a book of personal essays reflecting on favorite quotations.
The Clinton announcement came a day before demonstrators on the UC Berkeley campus blocked a scheduled appearance there by Yiannopoulos. In early January, media reports said Yiannopoulos had received a $250,000 advance for Dangerous, described as “autobiographical.” In 2016, Twitter permanently banned Yiannopoulos after several incidents of alleged abusive behavior.
“So much for any [threatened] author boycott,” of Simon & Schuster, notes Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.
“Certainly, I believe Gay has a right to pull her book from S&S – that’s her free speech right – and I believe that Clinton also has a right to publish with them,” he tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “S&S publisher Jonathan Karp is a trusted editor for such works as the Clinton book. But I don’t think this is the end of controversy for S&S. We are just six weeks or so away from that book’s scheduled publication, and as the events in Berkeley show, Yiannopoulos tends to bring out strong feelings in people.”
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Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.