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Literary prize blocks Random US

01.09.08

US literary prize the Langum Charitable Trust has said that it will refuse to consider titles from Random House US for its $1,000 awards until The Jewel of Medina is published. Random House dropped the book from its lists two months before publication after receiving advice that it could cause offence.

"Random House has exhibited a degree of cowardly self-censorship that seriously threatens the American public’s access to the free marketplace of ideas," the trust said: "We cannot pretend that this type of cowardice will disappear without serious remonstrance. Until The Jewel of Medina is actually published, The Langum Charitable Trust will not consider submissions of any books, for any of our prizes, from Random House or any of its affiliates."

The trust officiates over two prizes: American Historical Fiction and American Legal History Biography; and sponsors the Gene E and Adele R Malott Prize for Recording Community Activism. The most recent winner of the American historical fiction prize was Random House author Kurt Andersen, with his novel Heyday, though the prizes are usually won by books published by University Presses.

The trust added: "While any publisher has the right if not the duty to refuse to publish books that lack literary merit, Random House had previously decided this manuscript was highly publishable. It paid a $100,000 advance, and had arranged for foreign publication, Book of the Month Club selection, and Quality Paperback Book Club selection." 

Random House Bertelsmann Home The Jewel of Medina Langum Charitable Trust

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By Greg Berman

I'm very impressed by this move. We need more institutions to follow their lead.

01 Sep 08 11:39

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By Mike Rogers

Nobody at Random House ever read Fahrenheit 451? Fiction, I know, but it is about the burning of books due their power to offend.

02 Sep 08 11:21

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By Meaghan Wagner

Random House's decision here does smack of cowardice and over-political correct-ness, especially in light of the completion of the project. However, I think it is important to look at the rough couple of incidents RH has dealt with recently. Still not completely recovered from the "Million Little Pieces" fact/fiction catastrophe, RH has also suffered financially in recent years. It is so large it is almost cannibalizing its own business and finding it difficult to continue growth. The CEO, Peter Olsen also recently stepped down after his inability to rectify the situation. So the real issue here was "Could RH AFFORD to be the center of such a controversy?" As much as we would like art and literature to be free of ties to money, it is undeniable that RH's first priority is to keep its business running smoothly. It's sad to say but if this book were coming from a smaller, independant press, it may have had a better shot at making it to publication. So yes, RH is not being the ideal representative of freedom of speech, but who can really blame them? When the "Million Little Pieces" scandal broke, who stood up for them? No one. Is it really so surprising that they've decided to play it safe?

02 Sep 08 16:12

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By Ellen Asher

So, because they disapprove of an action taken by Random House, the Langum Charitable Trust has decided to punish all authors who dare publish through Random House or its affiliates. It is, after all, the authors -- who have no control over the publication of any books but their own -- who are the potential winners of the awards and who are in effect being blacklisted.

02 Sep 08 19:00

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By M. Orian

FYI - Random House has published several books Denying the Holocaust. No cowardly self-censorship there.

30 Sep 08 07:36

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