Harry Potter creator JK Rowling, Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, and poet Kate Clanchy are among the cast of the drama that continues to rock Writers Guild, not to mention Joanne Harris, author of the best-selling novel. Chocolat, who chairs the company’s management committee. This weekend, fresh allegations emerged that the SoA, Britain’s biggest union for published writers, illustrators and translators, is inappropriately taking sides in divisive cultural disputes. Clanchy, an author who was heavily criticized last summer for the language used in her memoir about her years as a teacher, is speaking to a lawyer about her legal position, she revealed to the Observer. She and her supporters, including publication dojang Carmen Kalil, are also calling for an independent report on the society’s proceedings. Writers have always been miserable with each other, but they used to be miserable in dark corners. Now Kate Clanchy is popping up everywhere Clanchy claims she was personally targeted, both by the organization and individually by Harris, as her publisher Picador withdrew support for her Orwell-winning book. Her memoir, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me, has since been republished by Swift Press in a revised form. It contained descriptions of some of the children in Clanchy’s classes that were later considered stereotypical or derogatory. His tone was also described as condescending. Clanchy apologized for any offense caused and amended her work. He has since spoken of a period of mental ill-health brought on by the impact of the incident. “Writers have always been mean to each other, but they used to be vicious in dark corners. Now it’s popping up everywhere,” Clanchy said this weekend. “I don’t believe the Society of Editors has followed its own guidelines recently. It is time for an independent review. It needs to stop behaving like a gentlemen’s club from the 1920s and start having proper, transparent complaints procedures.” Kate Clanchy’s Orwell Prize-winning memoir. The society lost a prominent president this year when Philip Pullman stepped down from the role after publicly denouncing efforts to censor Clancy’s book. Clanchy also claims that, although she was not a member of the society, Harris contacted her directly, asking her to apologize for her memoir. The poet added that both she and Pullman regretted his initial reference to the kind of censorship practiced by the Taliban, in a tweet that ultimately led to his resignation in March. Despite a call for unity from the Society of Editors this weekend, the battle over its leadership style looks likely to continue. Last week, Harris became embroiled in controversy when she appeared, in comments she later rewrote, to parody Rowling’s online comments in support of free speech and Salman Rushdie, the victim of a knife attack during a New York event. On Friday, the SoA attempted to turn the page by declaring its commitment to free speech. “We again call on all writers to converse with dignity and respect and to come together to work together on the issues that concern us all,” reads a statement on its website. The detailed response also says the society has investigated claims it failed to support sexist members but found “no basis for complaint”. But two rival letters have been circulating among society members since Harris tweeted about the literary death threats. An initial open letter, hosted on writer Julie Bindel’s Substack page, called on Harris to resign because the society had “failed to stand up” for threatened writers such as Gillian Philip, Rachel Rooney, Onjali Rauf, Bindel and Clanchy. An opposing letter, released by author Melinda Salisbury, defends Harris’ reputation as “a solid, fair, committed and passionate chair.” Discover new books with our expert reviews, author interviews and top 10. Literary delights delivered direct to you Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. On Thursday, Bindel’s Substack page published a follow-up letter challenging the arguments of Harris’ defenders and repeating the claim that gender-critical writers are not getting enough support. Harris, he argued, was entitled to her own views but should “separate those views from her role at the Society of Editors”. Novelist Amanda Craig is one of the authors judged to have failed by SoA, according to its critics. Two years ago, Craig stood down as a judge on the Mslexia writing competition because she had signed a letter supporting JK Rowling. Craig wrote to the competition organizers asking for her fee to be paid anyway and showed her letter to a SoA official before sending it off. According to those who question the SoA’s handling of free speech issues, Craig received no support from Harris during the incident. The SoA, however, says: “The allegations against Joanne Harris as chair appear to be that she failed to engage with writers, engaged in smear campaigns against them and was unwilling to represent their interests. This is not a fair representation of the dedicated and passionate presidency that the management committee and members see.”
