Readers will recall that some months ago, I called for a boycott of Tor Books. Since the company has taken no action (publicly, at least) over my concerns, that call remains in force; and, judging by what I hear from industry insiders about the latest quarterly results (there and elsewhere), it seems to be having an effect.
Now comes news that yet another Tor employee is involved, to at least some extent, in the latest politically correct brouhaha to hit science fiction and fantasy. S. T. Joshi, a very prolific and well-known author and multiple award winner, who's written, edited or compiled over 200 works, published this on his blog in the entry for November 10, 2015. I trust he'll permit me to reprint it in full, given that it affects readers and authors like you and I.
It has come to my attention that the World Fantasy Convention has decided to replace the bust of H. P. Lovecraft that constitutes the World Fantasy Award with some other figure. Evidently this move was meant to placate the shrill whining of a handful of social justice warriors who believe that a “vicious racist” like Lovecraft has no business being honoured by such an award. (Let it pass that analogous accusations could be made about Bram Stoker and John W. Campbell, Jr., who also have awards named after them. These figures do not seem to elicit the outrage of the SJWs.) Accordingly, I have returned my two World Fantasy Awards to the co-chairman of the WFC board, David G. Hartwell. Here is my letter to him:
Mr. David G. Hartwell
Tor Books
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Dear Mr. Hartwell:
I was deeply disappointed with the decision of the World Fantasy Convention to discard the bust of H. P. Lovecraft as the emblem of the World Fantasy Award. The decision seems to me a craven yielding to the worst sort of political correctness and an explicit acceptance of the crude, ignorant, and tendentious slanders against Lovecraft propagated by a small but noisy band of agitators.
I feel I have no alternative but to return my two World Fantasy Awards, as they now strike me as irremediably tainted. Please find them enclosed. You can dispose of them as you see fit.
Please make sure that I am not nominated for any future World Fantasy Award. I will not accept the award if it is bestowed upon me.
I will never attend another World Fantasy Convention as long as I live. And I will do everything in my power to urge a boycott of the World Fantasy Convention among my many friends and colleagues.
Yours,
S. T. Joshi
And that is all I will have to say on this ridiculous matter. If anyone feels that Lovecraft’s perennially ascending celebrity, reputation, and influence will suffer the slightest diminution as a result of this silly kerfuffle, they are very much mistaken.
Should anyone care to express an opinion on this matter to Mr. Hartwell, feel free to write to him at the above address or to his email address: dgh@tor.com .
(BTW, for those who may still be uncertain over what a 'social justice warrior' might be, Roosh has written an outstanding article defining the breed. I don't agree with some of his views on life, the universe and everything, but on SJW's he's spot-on. See also 'SJW's Always Lie', the definitive textbook on how to detect their attacks and defend yourself against them.)
I'm saddened, but not surprised, to see yet another Tor employee involved in this mess. I suppose it was predictable, given past events; and it demonstrates yet again why I called for a boycott of Tor in the first place. It seems too many of the company's employees are placing their personal political, social and economic views and perspectives ahead of the company's interests in their public actions and personae.
*Sigh*
Peter
8 comments:
Who cares what these monstrous and nebulous adumbrations of the pithecanthropoid and amoebal, vaguely moulded from some stinking viscous slime of earth’s corruption, and slithering and oozing in and on the filthy streets or in and out of doorways in a fashion suggestive of nothing but infesting worms or deep-sea unnamabilities, think?
Let them enjoy their pitiful triumph now. The blows of my sledge hammer upon their splintering door will soon disabuse them of their complacency.
Cthulhu f'taghn!
I find it ironic that they didn't learn after the first time around...
Watch for the John W. Campbell award to go next. SJW's always double down.
I can understand dropping HPL as the inspiration for the World Fantasy Award emblem, if they replace his image with that of a true icon of fantasy literature, such as noted Catholic apologists J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis. Or, if they want a more recent novelist whose works embrace fantasy, how about Larry Correia? Surely nobody believes that his Monster Hunter International series, with its clear supernatural themes, is anything other than fantasy?
I have a lovely mental picture of SJW heads exploding, just because I suggested these renowned fantasy authors as the new face of the World Fantasy Award.
Another way to troll the SJW crowd would be to suggest that Karl Marx be the new face for the World Fantasy Award. Some of them might actually buy into it, as a tribute to their spiritual leader.... ~evil grin~
From reading at that Wikipedia article, he's obviously an extreme right-wing white male. Probably also a Mormon.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
Thanks for the post and the links, both of which I enjoyed.
Part of the difficulty that the designated targets of SJW wrath are having goes to their character. They are, without exception, intelligent, thoughtful and generally well-read. Given a proposition that, as individuals, they consider outrageously incorrect their inclination would be to either ignore the source, or open an intelligent debate. They aren't prone to screaming, irrational behavior or jejune tantrums. Simply put, they don't fight fire with fire, they fight fire with water.
For some time now, I've been trying to understand just how and why this entire thing (words fail me) got started or why it continues. I've failed to understand, but happily for me Roosh has done an admirable job.
Thanks again for the post.
Simple fact, an institution or individual SJW's can't corrupt to their own ends, they will destroy. We've gone beyond Mau-mau'ing to Maoism.
Thank you for this post. As it happens, I had been hoping for an update on the boycott. I have not purchased any TOR titles, but like many of your readers, I hadn't been buying much of TORs product anyway. I just took my first (of many) ten-pound batch of TOR books to my local used bookstore. It's a busy place, and I'm happy to know that people in my town will be able to purchase TOR books without giving a penny to the company. I will donate directly to authors whose work I enjoy, and will encourage friends to do the same. Thank you for your leadership on the boycott, and for your blog.
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