Well, I guess this story has a happy ending....?

[Unimportant]

Which seems to have started with something along the lines of:

Once upon a time, there was a white man who proudly proclaimed, "I'm a celebrity chef! And because I'm a great cook, I bet I could write a book!

Oh, I did! I did write a book! A children's fantasy novel! And I must be a brilliant writer because Random House bought it. That sale had nothing to do with my famed cheffiness, I'm sure.

"And hey, isn't it cool that my book features a hero (a boy, of course) who has to rescue a kidnapped victim (a girl, of course). And, even better, she's First Nations! Of course, she's been living in foster care, because everyone knows First Nations people are like that and don't care about their kids. I've thrown in some Arrernte words to make it more real -- I mean, yeah, I got the words wrong, but still, it looks cool, and exotic, and nobody will care about the mistakes in the language because honestly, who thinks Gamilaraay people are actually people and not 3/5 of people?

"Wha---?! Offended? I should have consulted? Perpetuating harmful stereotypes?!?! OMG! Who knew?!?!?!?!"

Random House has pulled the book and Jamie Oliver has "vowed to do better".

 

[CMBright]

What I know of Jamie Oliver from his shows is a good, ethical individual. Definitely a shame, considering his work promoting healthy eating habits in schools, among other more celebrity chief-y type shows.

 

[Meg]

Oliver’s publisher said it took full responsibility for the misjudgment.

Translation: "We're sorry we got caught."

I mean c'mon, they had one job. Which was to make sure this was a book that ought to be published.

 

[lizmonster]

Translation: "We're sorry we got caught."

I mean c'mon, they had one job. Which was to make sure this was a book that ought to be published.

IME most people who work at a publisher don't ever read the book. The editors do, of course, but the marketing/publicity/acquisitios people don't. Whoever wrote that "oops!" press release certainly didn't.

This should have been caught waaaaaay back at the agent/acquisitions stage.

 

[Meg]

Yeah, I didn't mean every employee has a role where they could have caught this in particular. But, taken broadly, this is the publishing house's core mission: to make sure the book is fit for publication. It's not a side-issue that somehow fell through the cracks. They don't get to go, "oh, we didn't notice."

 

[frimble3]

And, FFS, who wants to read a book by Jamie Oliver unless it's about cooking? Or, maybe, a mystery set in a restaurant where his 'inside knowledge' might be interesting? But whatever possessed him to write a kids' book in the first place, unless he's contemptuously thinking that it would be easier?

 

[Meg]

Yeah, I didn't mean every employee has a role where they could have caught this in particular. But, taken broadly, this is the publishing house's core mission: to make sure the book is fit for publication. It's not a side-issue that somehow fell through the cracks. They don't get to go, "oh, we didn't notice."

It's just more fun to say "You had ONE JOB!"

 

[lizmonster]

It's just more fun to say "You had ONE JOB!"

Oh, I agree completely. An awful ,ot of folks were snoozing on this one.

 

[frimble3]

Or, just too stupid/racist/lazy/ignorant to realize that racism would be an issue? After all, it's only a kid's book, only published because the writer is a celebrity.

 

[mccardey]

A well-intentioned celebrity chef wrote a book from the prism of his privileged ignorance, was called out by First Nations writers, apologised profusely, had the book pulled from sale and promised to educate himself and do better next time - proving, amongst other things, that although we can't always know our areas of ignorance in advance, we can react with grace and insight when they're pointed out to us.

 

[Unimportant]

A well-intentioned celebrity chef wrote a book from the prism of his privileged ignorance, was called out by First Nations writers, apologised profusely, had the book pulled from sale and promised to educate himself and do better next time - proving, amongst other things, that although we can't always know our areas of ignorance in advance, we can react with grace and insight when they're pointed out to us.

Indeed.

Reading further on this issue, it appears that the author did in fact request Indigenous consultation prior to publication.

The book's publisher, Penguin Random House UK, said Oliver had requested Indigenous Australians be consulted over the book, but an "editorial oversight" meant that did not happen.

Gotta feel for the guy and give him creds, if he tried to do everything right and things still went pear-shaped.

 

[Marian Perera]

Wow, there's a Magical Minority character!

Among the complaints is that the character is given the ability to read people’s minds and communicate with animals and plants because "that’s the Indigenous way", which Sharon Davis from the national First Nations' education body said reduces "complex and diverse belief systems" to "magic".

OK, I am brown-skinned yet have no magical ability to read people's minds. Someone really screwed up here. Can I speak to the manager?

 

[mccardey]

OK, I am brown-skinned yet have no magical ability to read people's minds. Someone really screwed up here. Can I speak to the manager?

You just haven't tried hard enough...

 

[Roxxsmom]

Which seems to have started with something along the lines of:

Once upon a time, there was a white man who proudly proclaimed, "I'm a celebrity chef! And because I'm a great cook, I bet I could write a book!

Oh, I did! I did write a book! A children's fantasy novel! And I must be a brilliant writer because Random House bought it. That sale had nothing to do with my famed cheffiness, I'm sure.

"And hey, isn't it cool that my book features a hero (a boy, of course) who has to rescue a kidnapped victim (a girl, of course). And, even better, she's First Nations! Of course, she's been living in foster care, because everyone knows First Nations people are like that and don't care about their kids. I've thrown in some Arrernte words to make it more real -- I mean, yeah, I got the words wrong, but still, it looks cool, and exotic, and nobody will care about the mistakes in the language because honestly, who thinks Gamilaraay people are actually people and not 3/5 of people?

"Wha---?! Offended? I should have consulted? Perpetuating harmful stereotypes?!?! OMG! Who knew?!?!?!?!"

Random House has pulled the book and Jamie Oliver has "vowed to do better".

Don't they actually read the manuscripts before they publish them? Could have saved everyone a lot of pain if they'd required him to "do better" before the book hit the shelves.