Scholastic accused of censorship over roll-out of diversity collection

In the US, Scholastic has denied accusations that the creation of its new collection—Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice—is censoring diverse stories at its book fairs, reports Publishers Weekly.

In a statement, Scholastic said the collection—which focuses on diverse content, characters and creators—was designed as a way for it to continue providing diverse books, as a number of states and localities introduce legislation that could put librarians and school officials in jeopardy.

In response, educators raised concerns that Scholastic was requiring fairs to opt into or out of stocking the collection, allowing fair organisers to effectively eliminate a range of diverse titles.

Scholastic officials, however, said it is a ‘misconception’ that the company is ‘putting all diverse titles into one optional case’. ‘This is not true, in any school, in any location we serve,’ Scholastic said, adding there is ‘a wide range of diverse titles throughout every book fair, for every age level.’ A Scholastic spokesperson confirmed to Publishers Weekly that the collection began with the most recent school year, and that the company created the collection with titles ‘we support even as they are the most likely to be restricted.’

PEN America made a statement urging Scholastic to explore ‘other solutions’ to help local librarians and officials cope with the pressures from new laws. ‘To be clear, it is essential to lay blame on the legislators and activists who are putting Scholastic and other publishers in an impossible bind when it comes to the distribution of a diverse range of books,’ PEN America said. ‘Sequestering books on these topics risks depriving students and families of books that speak to them.’

Category: International news