from the MobyLives blog, a nice story about when co-operation doesn't mean authorised and why Martin Amis doesn't want you to read about his life...and sad that when the big authors and their agents go into bat, not much a small publisher can do to stem the tide, libel laws being what they are in the UK.
Amis sics the Jackal on small UK publisher to kill biography
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Showing posts with label Censorship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Censorship. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Books They Don't Want You To Read - Anti-Putin book seized
Russian police seized 100,000 copies of a book critical of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that activists planned to hand out at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum.
A book written by two opposition politicians contains something interesting, clearly...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/7833181/Police-seize-100000-anti-Vladimir-Putin-books.html
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Books They Don't Want You To Read: Egyptian Publisher Detained
It seems unwise to publish books supporting the opposition in Egypt as there seems to be mounting fear of opposition gathering around Nobel Peace prize winner ElBareidi. Publishers aren't usually the ones arrested though, so this is particularly troubling for all opponents of censorship. It seems he has subsequently been released, so one assume this is meant as intimidation. This from The Guardian
The whereabouts of an Egyptian publisher who recently released a book lauding former UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei remained unknown last night, after his kidnap by security officials on Saturday morning.
The arrest and disappearance of Ahmed Mahanna has fuelled fears among opposition activists that the government is stepping up its crackdown on dissenters as ElBaradei's campaign for political reform gathers momentum.
"We're fearful for the safety of all the young supporters who are campaigning for genuine democracy," said Alaa al-Aswany, the bestselling author of The Yacoubian Building who has backed ElBaradei's call for change. "Those that are famous are in a position to defend themselves against the regime, but ordinary people are open to being victimised by the government."
ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace prize winner who has emerged as an unlikely challenger to the 28-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak, has spent the last few days ramping up his public appearances after an interview with the Guardian last week in which he called on the west to end its support for Egypt's "sham" democracy and other oppressive Arab regimes.
The 67-year-old used his online Twitter feed to condemn Mahanna's incarceration, claiming "the detention of a publisher of a book about me and my ideas of reform shows a repressive regime afraid of its own shadow." Mahanna, who runs the Dawan publishing house and also works as a blogger, published a book last month by Egyptian journalist Kamal Gebrayal entitled ElBaradei and the Dream of the Green Revolution.
According to the Arabic Network of Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Mahanna's house was raided by security forces at dawn on Saturday. The publisher has not been traced, but an Egyptian official confirmed to local media that he had been placed under arrest and that copies of the book were being confiscated. "The housebreaking and arrest of a publisher for a book about ElBaradei ... clearly shows the intention of the government to gag all dissenting voices," said ANHRI in a statement on Saturday.
ElBaradei has whipped up a media storm since his return to Cairo in February thanks to his highly public criticisms of the ruling NDP party and repeated demands for a "constitutional revolution" in one of the region's most stagnant political landscapes.
On Friday hundreds of supporters flocked onto the streets in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura, where ElBaradei launched the first stage of a national tour designed to spread his message of change.
"What I saw today doesn't need words and it reveals an overwhelming and burning desire for change among the Egyptian people," he announced to cheering crowds. "We are all partners in change, which won't take place until each one of you feels that he is responsible for change."
Meanwhile, it has come to light that Mahanna may have been released. The disclosure came from a police source speaking to the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity.
Egyptian security forces arrest publisher
- guardian.co.uk, Sunday 4 April 2010 20.54 BST
- Article history
Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the United Nations nuclear agency. Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters/Reuters
The arrest and disappearance of Ahmed Mahanna has fuelled fears among opposition activists that the government is stepping up its crackdown on dissenters as ElBaradei's campaign for political reform gathers momentum.
"We're fearful for the safety of all the young supporters who are campaigning for genuine democracy," said Alaa al-Aswany, the bestselling author of The Yacoubian Building who has backed ElBaradei's call for change. "Those that are famous are in a position to defend themselves against the regime, but ordinary people are open to being victimised by the government."
ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace prize winner who has emerged as an unlikely challenger to the 28-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak, has spent the last few days ramping up his public appearances after an interview with the Guardian last week in which he called on the west to end its support for Egypt's "sham" democracy and other oppressive Arab regimes.
The 67-year-old used his online Twitter feed to condemn Mahanna's incarceration, claiming "the detention of a publisher of a book about me and my ideas of reform shows a repressive regime afraid of its own shadow." Mahanna, who runs the Dawan publishing house and also works as a blogger, published a book last month by Egyptian journalist Kamal Gebrayal entitled ElBaradei and the Dream of the Green Revolution.
According to the Arabic Network of Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Mahanna's house was raided by security forces at dawn on Saturday. The publisher has not been traced, but an Egyptian official confirmed to local media that he had been placed under arrest and that copies of the book were being confiscated. "The housebreaking and arrest of a publisher for a book about ElBaradei ... clearly shows the intention of the government to gag all dissenting voices," said ANHRI in a statement on Saturday.
ElBaradei has whipped up a media storm since his return to Cairo in February thanks to his highly public criticisms of the ruling NDP party and repeated demands for a "constitutional revolution" in one of the region's most stagnant political landscapes.
On Friday hundreds of supporters flocked onto the streets in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura, where ElBaradei launched the first stage of a national tour designed to spread his message of change.
"What I saw today doesn't need words and it reveals an overwhelming and burning desire for change among the Egyptian people," he announced to cheering crowds. "We are all partners in change, which won't take place until each one of you feels that he is responsible for change."
Meanwhile, it has come to light that Mahanna may have been released. The disclosure came from a police source speaking to the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Books They Don't Want You To Read: The Texas School Board
Back in the 80's, I was publisher of Methuen Australia which as part of its list had a nice line in grade school educational books, reading especially. One new series featured very friendly looking witches on the cover. We were quickly warned by our reps on the ground that this series would not be considered by the State of Queensland because of the witches - Queensland then was called the Deep North and was in many ways analogous to a Southern state - or even under the bizarre premiership of Joh Bjelke-Petersen closer to apartheid era South Africa. Queensland refused to allow its clocks to go forward at the same time as the rest of Australia, and infamously an airline pilot was allegedly fired for announcing
We have here something very close to what we claim to despise in others, notably the controversy over textbooks in Japan that many claim deliberately distort elements of Japanese 20th century history. In Japan elected officials from the Ministry of Education appear to work very closely with private publishers to ensure a 'more appropriate' gloss on certain events. And in Texas we see a mandate that 'capitalism' be replaced throughout by 'free-enterprise system' and 'balance' put into discussions on civil rights, and Thomas Jefferson removed from lists of writers who inspired revolution. As with so much of what used to be called the 'Culture Wars' much of this leaves the average reader unaware of specific Conservative red-button issues and key words somewhat at a loss...but it is glosses and emphasis that really shape our view of History, not just the repetition of facts. There are certain points of view and people that this group just don't want the children of Texas to be exposed to, and that is a very dangerous thing.
So where will publishers stand on this? Interestingly, modern technology may make this less of an issue than it would have ten years ago. The ability to customize textbooks even down to classroom level may mean that American schoolchildren outside of Texas may still learn about Jefferson while back in the 80s the children of Sydney and Melbourne never did see our witch book. I will keep an eye on any statements by the major publishers on this issue and share them. I wonder though if Google will take a stand similar to that on China
Censorship is censorship...!!
Nick W-W
We are now landing in Brisbane. Please turn your watches back one centuryWe had a quandary though - with only five states who could possibly endorse and purchase a school book and a very competitive environment, it was almost impossible to turn your back on 20% of the market before you even went to press. Which brings us to Texas. A lot more states here in the US of course, but only a couple of them have major state textbook purchasing programs and probably none of them have the influence and power of Texas. There is a whole sub-industry, as one of my predecessors in another position discovered to our cost, of brokers who will encourage you to produce books specifically for Texas state adoption that then remain unsold in the Texas School Book Depository (well not this one..) and which if I recall correctly we were actually charged property taxes on since our unsold books were taking up state land.
We have here something very close to what we claim to despise in others, notably the controversy over textbooks in Japan that many claim deliberately distort elements of Japanese 20th century history. In Japan elected officials from the Ministry of Education appear to work very closely with private publishers to ensure a 'more appropriate' gloss on certain events. And in Texas we see a mandate that 'capitalism' be replaced throughout by 'free-enterprise system' and 'balance' put into discussions on civil rights, and Thomas Jefferson removed from lists of writers who inspired revolution. As with so much of what used to be called the 'Culture Wars' much of this leaves the average reader unaware of specific Conservative red-button issues and key words somewhat at a loss...but it is glosses and emphasis that really shape our view of History, not just the repetition of facts. There are certain points of view and people that this group just don't want the children of Texas to be exposed to, and that is a very dangerous thing.
So where will publishers stand on this? Interestingly, modern technology may make this less of an issue than it would have ten years ago. The ability to customize textbooks even down to classroom level may mean that American schoolchildren outside of Texas may still learn about Jefferson while back in the 80s the children of Sydney and Melbourne never did see our witch book. I will keep an eye on any statements by the major publishers on this issue and share them. I wonder though if Google will take a stand similar to that on China
Censorship is censorship...!!
Nick W-W
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