Ban this book?
Back in the UK… but a little wistful that I'm not still in the US to witness the fireworks sparked off by the non-publishing of OJ Simpson 'hypothetical' account of how he might have murdered his ex-wife. . Such furore throws up all sorts of interesting questions for us publishers - where does one draw that un-crossable line? And is it redrawn each time the industry is thrown a curveball such as the OJ book, or every time the government wrestles with legislation concerning free speech, or when the home office questions the right of convicted criminals to profit from writing their memoirs? While the vast majority of people in the industry wish to stamp as high as possible a level of quality (editorial, design, production etc) on our books, the reality is always going to be that the bottom line of pounds and dollars matters just as much - no sales means no books. And there is no doubt that the OJ book would have sold - and sold rather well.
And so creaks the rollercoaster debate about the balancing act between public appetite and censorship… Penguin has had a long history of courting with such controversy - from the days of Lady Chatterley's Lover (link), to Rushdie's Satanic Verses, and more recently Roy Keane's fiery autobiography. So how do we make those judgement calls? Surprise surprise - there really is no magic formula - not that I've seen, anyway. Lots of debate, a few responsible people sat round the table, and a bloody good legal team help - but still no quadratic equations to make those decisions for us.
But, I guess as a fiction editor I'm lucky - mostly I'm immersed in a wonderful world of action thriller and historical mysteries, and such issues aren't waiting round the next corner to jump up and bite my arse.... mostly… I have a wee sideline in bloke-ish humour books - and am very excited to be publishing a wonderful book this month by Icelandic cartoonist Hugleikur Dagsson. www.shouldyoubelaughingatthis.co.uk. He's captured many hearts here at Penguin with his very kooky and cute, but ever so slightly controversial cartoons. But (there's always a but) - it seems not everyone is so enchanted…
Alex Clarke, Commissioning Editor - Michael Joseph
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