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problematic authors that i should steer clear from?
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katie
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May 21, 2022 07:35AM
i always see people talking abt problematic authors but i have yet to know any who are (besides JK Rowling). lmk ones who are so i can avoid reading their books!!
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"L.J Shen. when talking about the books—it was good/fine, but this author has been into many issues for plagiarism and bullying. I don't know the deeper details but this issue turns into a major drama and all that shit because few other authors had been involved🤷♀️" one of my moots tweeted this a few months back
Or you can learn to separate the work from the writer - unless their books have content you strongly disagree with, then you can just borrow them from the library or get them second hand.Off the top of my head I can only think of Cassandra Clare (renown plagiarist, I won't support that), E. K. Johnston (racist and problematic writing of minority characters) and Orson Scott Card (I think that one explains itself).
There are also rumours of Sarah J Maas being a Zionist, however that's never been properly proven so I don't think it should count. Her handling of minorities in Throne Of Glass did annoy me though.
Dana Isaly has been know of plagiarism but she only writes n/a dark so if you are not into that sorta stuff than you should be fine!
@jean i meant that i already know JK Rowling is problematic and that she was the only one i knew at the time who is problematic
Idgaf who the author is personally. If I see a book and like it, I'll read it. I really don't think it should matter, as long as the book itself isn't problematic
psa: if you separate the art from the artist you normalise the behaviour of that person. not mentioning that art itself is a personal expression of their perspective of the world, it is also a means of income. not to say you can't enjoy it, but just acknowledge their shitty behaviour. That said:
Elle Kennedy is a known homophobe and a racist. Mariana Zapata has problematic themes in her books. Dana Isaly is a disgusting human being who used a lovely sex worker's child sa story as a backstory for her book villain, on top of the plagiarism, obviously. Jennifer L. Armentrout's racist, you can clearly see it in her art. Colleen Hoover's books are hmm, questionable at best. Sara J Mass is racist, zionist and loves to romanticise sa. Cassandra Clare plagiarized and threatened other authors.
here's a girl who did a whole doc on the problematic authors: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLwmg29h/?k=1
I have a "no-thanks" shelf on my profile and you can look there to see some problematic authors, but off the top of my head some problematic authors that aren't JKR are:-James Dashner: sexually harassed women
-Sarah J. Maas: racist and her books don't handle the topic of sexual assault in a respectful way
it's okay to seperate the artist from the work though so it's okay to read books by problematic authors as long as you aren't afraid to call out any problematic things you see in their books
sorry to bust everyone’s bubble but Penelope Douglas is very problematic so I beg, if u are going to read her books do it online and don’t pay money for them
elly wrote: "sorry to bust everyone’s bubble but Penelope Douglas is very problematic so I beg, if u are going to read her books do it online and don’t pay money for them"No, she isn't FFS. Her books and many of her characters are dark and messed-up. That's the point. It's DARK romance. Not every relationship in real life is perfect, and that's what the books reflect. Morality isn't black or white. If you think her books are 'problematic' then you're not mature enough to be reading them.
Besides, having read all her stuff I can assure you that all of her protagonists go through a redemption of sorts by the end.
Kate Stewart is def problematic, I wish people spoke about it more
Read what you want, I feel like in some cases it's fine to separate the art from the artist. And I feel like it's up to you to decide if you feel comfortable supporting a specific author. You can always read books without buying them (library etc.) so that you aren't actually supporting an author.
There are several posts declaring Sarah Maas as "racist.". Some of you are clearly just throwing the word around while never experiencing racism. I've read many Maas books and have found this to be the furthest from the truth. Nehemiah was handled very well and so were the silent assassins. Slavery was presented as the evil that it is without tap dancing around it or romanticizing it.
...and Nesryn Faliq was handled well also.
