118 Comments

Impressive list is signatureS. Such a pity the high profile authors are absent. Same with high profiles actors. Terrified for their livelihoods, but no bottom!

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Almost as if most of them find you lit as repulsive and damaging to women as the rest of us outside your cult.

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you mean a cult that upholds free speech at the risk of offence - as opposed to threats and actual violence?

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Almost as if most of them find you lot as repulsive and damaging to women as the rest of us outside your cult.

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Thanks to everyone who has signed so far. We will aim to update the list once a day, so do please be patient with us!

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I received an email that I'd been added but still don't see my name (after refreshing the list).

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As an author I would like to add my name to this letter

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Why? You alphabet people just seem so nasty.

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If anyone should be concerned about the ability to speak and write freely, it should be people in the industry. But then your stated pronouns says it all.

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who - Joanne Harris who wont condemn threats and violence toward writers she disagrees with?

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So so tired of the abject cowardice around this. Have mailed to add my name.

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It's not very clear from the post how to sign up to the letter, but I would like to do so

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author

Hi Tim, see end of letter, before sigs

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Is the email address xxyywarrior@yahoo.com put on by Eowyn bona fide, Julie? Should those who want to sign use it?

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author

yes

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Very inspiring. Thank you. Glad to see there are still many writers who have not lost their integrity and courage!

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Thank you. Email sent from a non-fiction author and former SoA member.

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If you would like to add your name to this petition, please email us at: xxyywarrior@yahoo.com

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Oh. Authors to avoid. Thanks.

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Stick with the colouring-in books, love. More at your level.

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Or I just read from authors who are progressive and supportive rights for all.

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Oh. Do you mean the progressive and supportive authors who are NOT supporting the rights of a 10 year old girl to NOT to be forced to share a bathroom with a complete stranger who is a 6 ft plus biological male with a penis who claims to be a woman? Let's get real here. If that was your daughter and you saw that 6 ft plus stranger, who was obviously biologically male, enter after her; would you not be just the teeniest bit concerned? And if your 18 year old daughter ended up in jail either justly or unjustly and was forced to share a cell with a fully biological male convicted rapist with a penis, who now claims to be a 'trans- woman'; would you not be just the tiniest bit concerned for her safety? What about your daughter's rights? Would you maybe be just a little upset then that all those progressive writers would label you transphobic for expressing normal concern?

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Yeah, they mean men's rights advocates.

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which rights?

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Oh. A cat to avoid. Thanks.

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Aug 17, 2022·edited Aug 17, 2022

Could you please help us understand why you haven’t mentioned here any of the other Black, Asian and Middle Eastern women writers who have also received multiple death threats but sit on opposing sides of the debates around gender rights and identification to you? Wouldn’t it be proper to do so if your aim here is to tackle the terrible upswing of threats and intimidation targeting women writers, regardless of their positions in the conflicts around gender? Or are you, by this assumedly deliberate omission, implicitly suggesting that only SOME women deserve support against such hideous threats? It seems very partial to not to have named them too, considering the similarly high profile nature of the attacks on them. Women writers should absolutely be supported against threats and intimidation, but a proper defence of freedom of speech should involve ALL women writers, surely, not just the ones you agree with? Please explain.

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Dec 10, 2022·edited Dec 10, 2022

whatever colour, sexuality, creed or ideology yes as a reader, I agree - and both sexes too. But it is a UK society so you could expect UK writers.

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It’s useful when people make it clear how toxic they are by trotting out ridiculous, infantile, name-calling insults. It seems that in place of any reasonable discussion, there’s just a pit of rage and fury here; the trauma and unhappiness running through this whole thread and letter is palpable.

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Dec 10, 2022·edited Dec 10, 2022

yep insults dont persuade anyone any side of any debate - unless theyre a masochist! And what's wrong with rage and fury, unhappiness and trauma - not nice but tragically part of the human condition and important for writers to express, surely.

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you're entitled to your insults - they dont prove anything but you're entitled to em!

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You woke scum poisoned the well, and now the decent people aren't tolerating you any more.

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you a false flagger? calling anyone scum doesnt make em scum obvs.

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This faux-nostalgic Volksgemeinschaft ‘decent people’ stuff is dangerous majoritarian poison, and the fact that the people behind this letter don’t even try to address the vile bile being spewed out in the comments here, by the like of Craven, speaks volumes.

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right so it's got to implying anyone who doesnt agree with you is a nazi? and/or spewing poison? Come ON. whether it's 'majoritarian' or not maybe it's your post that is 'speaking volumes' against free speech?

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You're on the wrong side of history, wokey. We've seen through your racism, and we're not going to let you indoctrinate our kids with your paedophiliac gender nonsense any more.

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The fact that you are spewing this unhinged and offensive bile, while knowing nothing about me or my views on gender theory, is what makes it clear which of us is on the ‘wrong side of history’. Now goodbye, troll.

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Oh I found a link. Here is a much nicer letter than this silly Julie Bintel one.

https://melindasalisbury.wordpress.com/2022/08/16/an-open-letter-to-the-society-of-authors-regardining-joanne-harris/

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"Here's words I agree with!"

Cool.

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Dec 11, 2022·edited Dec 11, 2022

Thanks for posting that one so ppl can judge for themselves - not least, the letter begs important and not silly questions for writers to consider :

Re evidence of claims of 'intimidation and harrassment' towards Joanne Harris and her family for example. If true, certainly not nice. Re merits and dangers of enforcing 'hate speech', pls see Sex Matters petition requesting clarity in legislation. Re twitter as judge and jury - bans for saying women don't have penises?

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A good guide to transphobes who approve of the awful bullying of Joanne Harris and her family after deliberately misrepresenting what she said, truly abhorrent behavior and this is a continuation of it.

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A good guide to people who know what a woman is, and respect their right to their identity.

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Dec 10, 2022·edited Dec 10, 2022

women dont need 'identity'

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I agree with this letter entirely.

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I do always appreciate being given a concise list of fools and crackpots. Saves me a lot of paperwork.

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yawn.

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Add me. I'm an author of 5 books.

Kerstin Rodgers, msmarmitelover.com

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author

Hi there, can you email the address at the bottom of the letter, just above the beginning of the signatures? Thank you

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Thank you so much for putting this all together! This is wonderful to see.

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