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As It Happens

Chicago Review of Books snubs Simon & Schuster over Milo book deal

Publisher Simon & Schuster has reportedly given the extreme right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopolous a $250k advance for his memoir. Guest host Helen Mann speaks with Chicago Review of Books editor-in-chief Adam Morgan.
CBC Radio ·
Breitbart contributor Milo Yiannopolous, a gay conserative self-described internet troll provocateur, was banned from Twitter for harassing Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones. (Matt Kwong/CBC)

Milo Yiannopolous, the Breitbart writer who was deemed too offensive for Twitter, has been granted a book deal by Simon and Schuster. 

Last week, it was revealed that the publisher has given Yiannopolous an advance of $250 000. Yiannopolous was kicked off of Twitter in the summer, after a racist harassment campaign against Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones.
Leslie Jones, a cast member in the film "Ghostbusters" abandoned Twitter last summer because of the social media company's inability to protect its users from online harassment. She has since returned. (Chris Pizzello/The Associated Press)

Many in the literary world spoke out against the book deal. Among them, Adam Morgan. He's the founder and editor-in-chief of the Chicago Review of Books. The publication has said they will not review a single Simon and Schuster book this year, in protest. As It Happens guest host Helen Mann spoke with Morgan about the decision.

Adam Morgan: I thought it was really unfortunate that a mainstream publisher, one of the five largest publishers in the United States, would take a step towards normalizing hate speech. 

Helen Mann: For those who aren't familiar with him, could you tell us why [Milo Yiannopolous] is so notorious? 

AM: Sure. So, he has become very popular for speaking his mind and not being afraid to say offensive things. He's even admitted himself that he is offensive on purpose, because he knows that that will get headlines and that will get him plenty of fans, even if it gets him banned from Twitter and other forms of social media.

HM: Now you have announced the Chicago Review of Books will not be reviewing any Simon and Schuster titles in 2017. Why go that far?

AM: We actually didn't call for a boycott of Simon and Schuster by readers, and we don't expect other review outlets or news outlets to boycott Simon and Schuster. For us, it's as simple as we would rather spend the time giving free publicity to a different publisher who isn't normalising hate speech. We're really passionate about independent presses and small presses. So when we cover a big five publisher, it's because we think one of their books is really worth talking about. Last year in 2016, we covered 15 Simon and Schuster books. So this year, in 2017, we would rather use those 15 slots on a publisher that isn't normalizing hate speech.

HM: Now some of those authors who are published by Simon and Schuster say they're unhappy with calls for… well you say you've not called for a boycott, but some have. And they're worried about that, saying that their works are going to be punished for the decision to publish Milo Yiannopoulos. What do you say to them? 

AM: Yeah, I've actually spoken with a lot of them. It is unfair. It's not fair to take out our grievances on authors who have nothing to do with, you know, the editorial people in charge at Simon and Schuster. They will publish some fantastic books next year. They have some great imprints like 37 Ink and some great authors. We would just rather … it's like, if my favourite restaurant hired Milo, I just wouldn't eat there anymore. I wouldn't ask people to stop going, I wouldn't try to run the restaurant out of business. I wouldn't want to negatively affect the other waiters at that restaurant. It's just not somewhere that I would want to eat anymore. And that's what we've done by not covering Simon and Schuster. And those other authors that I've spoken with, who don't think this is fair, I've offered to cover different editions of their book that have been put out by British presses and Australian presses. We just won't mention the Simon and Schuster editions of their book, or link to any purchase options for the Simon and Schuster editions.
The Chicago Review of Books is "an independent literary review dedicated to cultivating awareness of diverse voices, settings, genres, and ideas in fiction." (Chicago Review of Books )

HM: There are questions about, I guess, freedom of speech, freedom to publish anything. Is… are you concerned that you're cracking down on their right to publish what they see fit in this way.

AM: No, not at all actually. I truly believe Milo has the right to say anything he wants to say, and I believe Simon and Schuster has the right to publish anything they want to publish. And along the same lines Chicago Review of Books have the right to cover whatever books we want to cover. It's not an issue of free speech, it's really an issue of free market capitalism. You have every right to say what you want but it doesn't protect you from repercussions in the market.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. For more on this story, listen to our full interview with Adam Morgan.

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