Horman, Robinsons Books apologise for X comments
Susanne Horman, owner of Robinsons Bookshop, has apologised for comments about diverse books posted to her X account, reported the Age yesterday.
On the weekend, Instagrammer @coffeebooksandmagic posted screenshots from Horman’s X account, originally posted in early December, which listed a range of ‘books we don’t need’, claiming that she would not stock books that reflected a ‘woke agenda’, and calling instead for ‘positive male lead characters of any age, any traditional nuclear white family stories, kids picture books with just white kids on the cover, and no wheelchair, rainbow or Indigenous art’. As reported by the Age, the post has ‘since received hundreds of comments condemning Horman’s views’.
Following the post, author Zana Fraillon called on readers ‘to nominate a bookshop that celebrates and embraces diversity and inclusion’, under the hashtag #betterbookshops. The call has since been supported by a range of members of the Australian book community, including authors Kate Mildenhall and Claire Coleman, and sparked threads of comments. Industry association BookPeople has also shared a statement to Facebook addressing the discussion. ‘Celebrate diverse books, inclusive books, books with representation,’ the organisation said. ‘We stand with bookshops that curate their books to celebrate inclusivity. In light of the comments made by the owner of Robinsons Bookstore, we want to celebrate and promote the diversity of Australia’s independent bookshops.’ The organisation directed readers to Fraillon’s original Instagram post ‘to find a whole comments section of excellent bookshop recommendations’.
Robinsons Bookshop, which has seven stores across Melbourne, has been owned by Horman since 2007. A statement posted to the business’s Instagram page shortly after the original posts were shared, said: ‘We sincerely apologise to anyone who has been offended by online comments that are being edited by individuals and posted on social media about Robinsons. They are being taken out of context and being misrepresented as the views of Robinsons Bookshop when they are not.’
In a statement later shared with Books+Publishing, the bookstore ‘apologises but still believes there is a gap in the market’. ‘After a backlash to comments made by Susanne Horman on X, Robinsons Bookshop would like to clarify the intent of her posts,’ read the statement, with Horman commenting: ‘While some genres are overflowing on the shelves, others are noticeably bare. Positive stories with men and boys as the hero are almost missing from the mix. We are not making a value judgement on this observation and apologise if people have taken this comment as a negative reflection on an excellent range of diverse books.’
‘We apologise if any comments made on social media have upset or offended anyone and would like to reassure customers, authors and publishers that we will continue to stock a diverse range of books.’
Category: Local news
