Banned Books Week: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

This one's going to be short because I'm short on time and I'm announcing a winner at the end of this post. It's the last day of Banned Books Week! Reading about these books has been a real eye-opener for me and I've found three books that I'm going to buy in print. Today's feature is The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. It was published in 1999 and I must say, the cover is perfect for the title/subject. 

Blurb:

Standing on the fringes of life... offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

This book has been on ALA's top ten most frequently reported books of 2001-2011 five times. What's special about this book is that it was made into a film, roles going to Emma Watson, Ezra Miller and Logan Lerman. There's really nothing on Wikipedia about the controversy surrounding this book, but when I Google it I get tons. However - and sorry about this - I don't have time to cover it.

You can buy The Perks of Being a Wallflower from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other retailers.

Thanks for being with me this week and I hope some of you have learned something new and will take action if there's a book banning going on in your near surroundings. I don't believe in hiding information from kids and teens. Sure, blatant erotica, but kissing and the mentioning of sex (and even behind-the-scenes sex for the younger teens - more for older teens) should be acceptable. The better hidden it is, the more curious they will become and will be likely to experiment with it themselves. If they can read about it in books, they'll partly quench that curiosity.

The same goes with LGBT matters, don't hide the information. Make it available in school libraries. By hiding it they're saying that the only form of family/person is heterosexual and a modern person should know by now that heterosexual is in no way the only way to be and that there's nothing wrong with being LGBTQ.

So, I'm leaving you with great list of YA/MG QUILTBAG books and a winner of Geography Club. I'll contact the winner tonight.

The winner is: Penumbra!

Banned Books Week: King & King

For the sixth day of Banned Books Week I'm featuring King & King by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland. Another children's book that's been repeatedly challenged, despite winning awards. Published in 2003, it was on ALA's top 10 list of most frequently challenged (reported) books two years in a row (2003 and 2004). Not the five consecutive years And Tango Makes Three got, but getting on that list once is bad enough.

As the title suggests, this book is about a prince who marries another prince. According to some Goodreads reviews the women in this book are displayed in a very negative way, but the reason this book is on ALA's list is because of homosexual content. It's clearly stated - no dancing around the reason. 

I like this article about the controversy surrounding this book, especially this part:

"The core of this battle is, of course, a fight over information, and opponents of gay rights know that the more information people, including kids, get about homosexuality, the less likely they are to end up being prejudiced against gays and lesbians."

That's exactly why people are trying to ban these books.

Blurb:

Once there lived a lovelorn prince whose mother decreed that he must marry by the end of the summer. So began the search to find the prince's perfect match and lo and behold......his name was Lee. You are cordially invited to join the merriest, most unexpected wedding of the year. KING & KING is a contemporary tale about finding true love and living happily ever after, sure to woo readers of any age. A great gift. Exuberant artwork full of visual play calls for repeated readings. Accelerated Reader quiz available. 

You can buy King & King from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other retailers.

Giveaway: I'm offering a copy of Geography Club - the book I featured in my first post of this themed week - to a person who leaves a comment and email address on any of the banned books posts this week (only one entry though and one prize for the whole week). If you don't want your email address posted here, feel free to send me mail at eripike at gmail dot com. I will also make this contest open in the YA LGBT Books group on Goodreads, for those who aren't old enough to enter this site.

The winner will be randomly drawn, contacted and announced on October 6th - the last day of this awareness week.

Banned Books Week: Annie on My Mind

Fifth day of Banned Books Week and I'm featuring Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden. I actually had this book, given to me as a prize during Banned Books Week some years back, but I donated it to Iceland's LGBT center a month ago. I did make an honest attempt to read it, I just didn't like the literal style of it, so I didn't get past the first couple of chapters. However, this week isn't about which style you like. This book has been through some serious hardships.

But first, a little bit about the book. It was first published in 1982, so it's an oldie written in a time where there was even less tolerance toward homosexuality. Here's one of the blurbs on Goodreads:

This groundbreaking book is the story of two teenage girls whose friendship blossoms into love and who, despite pressures from family and school that threaten their relationship, promise to be true to each other and their feelings. This book is so truthful and honest, it has been banned from many school libraries and even publicly burned in Kansas City.

I did not see it on the list of top ten reported books of the 21st century, however, it is number 44 on ALA's list of 100 most frequently challenged books 's 1990-1999. Naturally, this book was on West Bend's list of books-to-challenge. This book was also burned in Kansas in 1993 and there was a court case in regards to another big banning incident (you can read about this on Wiki).

Charming...

In 1994 (still citing Wiki here), a play was written based on this novel. Our old buddy Fred Phelps and his followers picketed the production. I wonder if they had little kids hold up those colorful "Got Hates Fags" and "Fags Die. God Laughs" signs back then (yeah, that latter one sounds so grade school - couldn't they come up with a better one?). If you ask me, though, Fred Phelps seems to hate God! Or at least his God is way more hateful than mine.

Corrupted Innocence 

You can buy Annie on My Mind from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other retailers.

Giveaway: I'm offering a copy of Geography Club - the book I featured in my first post of this themed week - to a person who leaves a comment and email address on any of the banned books posts this week (only one entry though and one prize for the whole week). If you don't want your email address posted here, feel free to send me mail at eripike at gmail dot com. I will also make this contest open in the YA LGBT Books group on Goodreads, for those who aren't old enough to enter this site.

The winner will be randomly drawn, contacted and announced on October 6th - the last day of this awareness week.

If this was in Iceland, child services would be involved already.
Hate is taught.

Love this one ^.^

Banned Books Week: Luna

Fourth day of Banned Books Week and I decided to feature a book about a boy who is a girl on the inside: Luna, by Julie Anne Peters. I have read both the blurb and a short summary on Wikipedia and I must say, I have to have it! Jeeze, I think I'll probably end up buying paperback copies of all of these books and donate them to Iceland's LGBT center. Hmm...or maybe I should just donate them to my local library instead, so non-LGBT people will be more inclined to check them out.

Blurb:

Regan's brother Liam can't stand the person he is during the day. Like the moon from whom Liam has chosen his female namesake, his true self, Luna, only reveals herself at night. In the secrecy of his basement bedroom Liam transforms himself into the beautiful girl he longs to be, with help from his sister's clothes and makeup. Now, everything is about to change-Luna is preparing to emerge from her cocoon. But are Liam's family and friends ready to welcome Luna into their lives? Compelling and provocative, this is an unforgettable novel about a transgender teen's struggle for self-identity and acceptance.

Now, of course there's controversy. I mean, if books about two male penguins hatching an egg together and raising little Tango is considered by some people harmful to kids, then a book about a guy who's a girl will definitely be considered harmful. I mean, we can't let people be themselves and be accepted for it, now can we? No, that would make the world too accepting and there wouldn't be enough balance between justice and prejudice and it would result in the end of humanity as we know it.

Now, my university teacher always says that Wikipedia isn't a reliable source, but I'm going to quote it anyway:

"Although there is not much published about the censorship of Luna, the novel is part of the list of restricted/banned books of Texas due to the topics of transgender and homosexuality as well as rough language.[1] Despite winning multiple awards, the book revolves around sexual orientation, which is often left out of the school curriculum."

That's just the thing. Another way to keep these books hidden from kids (and thereby censored) is to not include them in the school curriculum. I think it should be mandatory to have some sort of (positive) enlightenment on LGBT (and racial) matters in every school - not just once but over and over to practice acceptance. I'm going to check the reading list in the school my sons will attend next year. I swear, if my Icelandic was better, I'd spend time translating some of these books and try to get the national school board to include them in the schools (I doubt they would object, the problem is that we don't have that many Icelandic MG/YA LGBT fiction).

According to the Banned Books Database, Luna has been challenged for "Dysfunctional family (family problems), Sexuality (Transexuality/Transgender), and use of Profanity".

You can buy Luna from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other retailers.

Giveaway: I'm offering a copy of Geography Club - the book I featured in my first post of this themed week - to a person who leaves a comment and email address on any of the banned books posts this week (only one entry though and one prize for the whole week). If you don't want your email address posted here, feel free to send me mail at eripike at gmail dot com. I will also make this contest open in the YA LGBT Books group on Goodreads, for those who aren't old enough to enter this site.

The winner will be randomly drawn, contacted and announced on October 6th - the last day of this awareness week.

Banned Books Week: And Tango Makes Three

Day three of Banned Books Week. I planned to feature lesser talked-about LGBT books that have been subjected to prejudice in the form of having been banned from libraries or have been through attempts to be banned. However, And Tango Makes Three is true story of two male penguins that adopted an egg! I just had to feature that. Plus, the whole circus around having it banned just blew my mind. 

And Tango Makes Three is a story for kids aged 4 and up, and I'm telling you guys, it is sooooo sweet. Here, you can watch it on YouTube with the images (that made me go "awww!" so many times and I've vowed to buy this book and read for my kids. I'll have to translate it, but I'm doing it. And I left an Amazon review).

Here are Author's Note from the YouTube video: "All of the events in this story are true. Roy and Silo are called chinstrap penguins because of the delicate line of black feathers that loops under their beaks, as if to hold a hat in place. After years of living side by side in the Central Park Zoo, they discovered each other in 1998 and they have been a couple ever since. Tango, their only chick, was born from an egg laid by another penguin couple named Betty and Porkey. That couple had often hatched their own eggs, but they had never been able to care for more than one at a time. In 2000, when Betty laid two fertile eggs, Rob Gramzay decided to give Roy, Silo, and one of those eggs a chance to become a family. If you go to the Central Park Zoo, you can see Tango and her parents splashing about in the penguin house along with their friends, including Nipper, Squawk, Charlie, Wasabi, and Piwi. There are forty-two chinstrap penguins in the Central Park Zoo and over ten million chinstraps in the world. But there is only one Tango.

by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005"

But of course there have to be closed-minded people to object this sweet little story! This book has been at ALA's top 10 list of most challenged books in America five years in a row! In 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010 it was THE most challenged book (as in, most reported for inappropriateness). In 2009 it was "only" the second most reported book. Thankfully, it didn't make the top 10 in 2011. 

Take a look at this:

You can buy And Tango Makes Three from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other retailers.

Giveaway: I'm offering a copy of Geography Club - the book I featured in my first post of this themed week - to a person who leaves a comment and email address on any of the banned books posts this week (only one entry though and one prize for the whole week). If you don't want your email address posted here, feel free to send me mail at eripike at gmail dot com. I will also make this contest open in the YA LGBT Books group on Goodreads, for those who aren't old enough to enter this site.

The winner will be randomly drawn, contacted and announced on October 6th - the last day of this awareness week.

Banned Books Week: Boy Meets Boy

My second Banned Books Week LGBT feature is Boy Meets Boy, by David Levithan. 

Again, I'm borrowing information and quotation from a preexisting blog. This one from Censorship-Free Libraries where it says that there is nothing objectionable about this book other than the content (as in, they can't ban it for bad language or sexual content). However, the blog also says: "In spite of its G rating, challenges to Boy Meet Boy crop up.  It was challenged in 2009 at the West Bend (Wisconsin) public library [West Bend again... Remember the attempts to ban Geography Club?], after the library put in on a gay-themed reading list.  The Oklahoma Library Association noted a challenge in 2003. Neither of these direct challenges was successful, although an article in Random House Inc. magazine indicates that the book is stolen from libraries with some frequency."

Honestly? Stolen so it won't be available in the libraries? Some people will go to any lengths...

Blurb:

Considered groundbreaking upon its publication in 2003, Boy Meets Boy is now 10 years old and David Levithan's debut about two teenage boys finding love is still in print and still as heartwarming. The world was different when Boy Meets Boy first appeared and attitudes have changed, but this novel is just as relevant and enjoyable as it was then. To mark the 10th anniversary, this edition features new backmatter from the author, including an original story about the scene-stealing, fan-favorite Infinte Darlene--literature's only star quarterback and homecoming queen. David is now considered one of the most important voices in YA literature, having since authored Every Day, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist with Rachel Cohn, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green, and fans of his more recent books will not be disappointed by his very first.

You can buy Boy Meets Boy from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other retailers.

If you want to read an excellent post about banned books, I recommend Banned Books Week: Smoke Screen of Hypocrisy. 

Giveaway: I'm offering a copy of Geography Club - the book I featured in my first post of this themed week - to a person who leaves a comment and email address on any of the banned books posts this week (only one entry though and one prize for the whole week). If you don't want your email address posted here, feel free to send me mail at eripike at gmail dot com. I will also make this contest open in the YA LGBT Books group on Goodreads, for those who aren't old enough to enter this site.


The winner will be randomly drawn, contacted and announced on October 6th - the last day of this awareness week.

Banned Books Week: Geography Club

This week is Banned Books Week (Sept 30 - Oct 6th). I have no doubt that many of today's GLBT books are being banned all over the world. However, only a handful of those instances gets reported. Throughout this week, I will feature an LGBT book a day that's been either banned due to homosexual content, or has been under some discrimination and attempts of being banned (for the same or other reasons - note, I've learned that people have been hiding behind "sexual content" and "inappropriate language" to get LGBT off the YA library shelves!). 

Today's feature is Geography Club by Brent Hartinger (check out the giveaway at the end of this post). It was "withdrawn" in 2006 at the Curtis Junior High and Curtis Senior High Schools libraries after parents claimed the book could result in ""a casual and loose approach to sex", encourage use of Internet porn and the physical meeting of people through chat rooms".  In 2009-2010 there were attempts to have it removed from the West Bend (WI) Community Memorial Library by the West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries group, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Score one for the library! (Information and quotation from the Marshall University Libraries).

Here's a short, but interesting essay by the author on the whole matter: They Tried to Ban My Gay Teen Book.

Blurb:

Russel Middlebrook is convinced he's the only gay kid at Goodkind High School.

Then his online gay chat buddy turns out to be none other than Kevin, the popular but closeted star of the school's baseball team. Soon Russel meets other gay students, too. There's his best friend Min, who reveals that she is bisexual, and her soccer–playing girlfriend Terese. Then there's Terese's politically active friend, Ike.

But how can kids this diverse get together without drawing attention to themselves?

"We just choose a club that's so boring, nobody in their right mind would ever in a million years join it. We could call it Geography Club!"

Brent Hartinger's debut novel, what became first of a series about Russel Middlebrook, is a fast–paced, funny, and trenchant portrait of contemporary teenagers who may not learn any actual geography in their latest club, but who learn plenty about the treacherous social terrain of high school and the even more dangerous landscape of the human heart.

You can buy this book from major (and minor) retailers, like Amazon and Barns&Noble. Or you can try to win a copy by leaving a comment along with your email address* to any of the banned books posts this week (only one entry though and one prize for the whole week). That's right. To kick off the Banned Books Week, I'm giving away an e-copy of Geography Club by Brent Hartinger. The premise of this story sounds so interesting and I love the blurb.  

*If you don't want your email address posted here, feel free to send me mail at eripike at gmail dot com. I will also make this contest open in the YA LGBT Books on Goodreads, for those who aren't old enough to enter this site.

The winner will be randomly drawn, contacted and announced on October 6th - the last day of this awareness week.

PayPal Censorship Over. Hopefully.

Well people, it's been a few days since PayPal sent the announcement that they're backing off with some of their demands. Or that's how I see it. What they said was that this was their intention all along! Can you believe that?

Here are snippets from Anuj Nayar's, PayPal's director of communications, blog post on the UPDATE: PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy:

After talking with some of our affected merchants and other interested parties, we wanted to clarify exactly how we are going to implement the policy.

First and foremost, we are going to focus this policy only on e-books that contain potentially illegal images, not e-books that are limited to just text. The policy will prohibit use of PayPal for the sale of e-books that contain child pornography, or e-books with text and obscene images of rape, bestiality or incest (as defined by the U.S. legal standard for obscenity: material that appeals to the prurient interest, depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value).

In addition, the policy will be focused on individual books, not on entire “classes” of books. Instead of demanding that e-book publishers remove all books in a category, we will provide notice to the seller of the specific e-books, if any, that we believe violate our policy.  We are working with e-book publishers on a process that will provide any affected site operator or author the opportunity to respond to and challenge a notice that an e-book violates the policy. (Emphasis is mine)

Okay, "illegal images, no e-books that are limited to just text": bullshit that this was their original intention! There's no way at least four different publishers/retailers misunderstood PayPal's original intention. Their intention was so clear the Bookstrand caved under the threat immediately and kicked out most of their indie authors and new publishers (one of my publishers included) - even those who didn't write/publish erotica (theory is that they were happy for the excuse to do it - I don't know if that's true). Kudos for that last bit of bold text - they're learning to play nice.

Why do I say "their original intention"? Here:

Our primary interest in this matter has always been to come to a mutually agreeable solution that allows freedom of expression, while still ensuring PayPal is used in ways that fully comply with applicable laws and our policies. (Emphasis is mine)

Uhuh. That's why the publishers/retailer were calmly thinking things over, because they had daaays to think about agreeable solutions. Bullshit! They had next to no time to comply, and only got an extension when people started protesting.

Would have been better if they'd just owned up that they made a mistake - there's nothing wrong with that, but instead they go some backwards way of explaining what they "originally meant"...to try to make it look like they'd been misunderstood? A simple "we have decided to revise our decision regarding the restriction of erotic content... yadi yadi yada..." would have shown them in a much better light.

To be clear, we have not shut down the PayPal account of any of the e-book publishers involved in this matter.  PayPal is committed to working with publishers on a mutually acceptable process to address potentially offending books on their sites so that material with images that violate this policy cannot be purchased using our service. (Emphasis is mine)

There are those "images" again. How-oh-how did the four retailers misunderstand that? Yes, that's me being sarcastic. No, they did not shut down any of the publishers/retailers, but they did hold a gun to their heads and threatened to fire if they didn't comply (always wanted to quote the Star Trek's Borg: "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."). That's been clear all along. It wasn't until Mark Coker of Smashwords stepped in and started negotiating. I believe that man can talk his ass of to anyone and make them feel like the outcome is a win-win (which, in this case, it was).

I was fairly quick to shift my eyes from the retailers to PayPal/credit card companies, because I don't like bullies and they were displaying bullying behavior. But get this, it wasn't until after both Visa and Mastercard had sent out letters saying that they had nothing to do with PayPal's crackdown that PayPal sent out their update. I can't say for sure if that's why they decided to back off with their demands, because Mark Coker *did* go in person to meet them, but it sure looks fishy. Though I believe Mark Coker was a big reason PayPal backed down, I think it's been a mix of things:

Thanks so much to all those who signed petitions; blogged; kept lists of what was happening and thereby kept us updated; sent mails and inquirites to PayPal, newspapers, news sites, organizations, credit card companies, and all sorts of social media. Hell, I contacted 60 Minutes. I have no idea if they made inquiries, but at least I tried! PayPal said there was some "chatter" - I say there was an uproar.

Anyway, I'm happy that it's over. They can still change things in the future, but for now it seems we have won. 

Here's Coker's letter in full:

March 13, 2012

Smashwords author/publisher update:  PayPal Reverses Proposed Censorship

Great news.  Yesterday afternoon I met with PayPal at their office in San Jose, where they informed me of their decision to modify their policies to allow legal fiction.

Effective last night, we rolled back the Smashwords Terms of Service to its pre-February 24 state.

It's been a tumultuous, nerve-wracking few weeks as we worked to protect the right of writers to write and publish legal fiction.  

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Smashwords authors, publishers and customers.  You stood up and made your voice known.  Thank you to every Smashwords author and publisher who wrote me to express opinions, even if we disagreed, and even if you were angry with me. You inspired me to carry your cause forward.   

Smashwords authors, publishers and customers mobilized. You made telephone calls, wrote emails and letters, started and signed petitions, blogged, tweeted, Facebooked and drove the conversation. You made the difference.  Without you, no one would have paid attention. I would also like to thank the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). These three advocacy groups were the first to stand up for our authors, publishers and customers. Their contribution cannot be overstated.  We collaborated with them to build a coalition of like-minded organizations to support our mutual cause. Special kudos to Rainey Reitman of EFF for her energy, enthusiasm and leadership. 

I would also like to thank all the bloggers and journalists out there who helped carry our story forward by lending their platforms to get the story out.  Special thanks to TechCrunch, Slashdot, TechDirt, The Independent (UK), Reuters, Publishers Weekly, Dow Jones, The Digital Reader, CNET, Forbes, GalleyCat & EbookNewser and dozens of others too numerous to mention.  

I would like to thank our friends at PayPal.  They worked with us in good faith as they promised, engaged us in dialogue, made the effort to understand Smashwords and our mission, went to bat for our authors with the credit card companies and banks, and showed the courage to revise their policies.  

This is a big, bold move by PayPal.  It represents a watershed decision that protects the rights of writers to write, publish and distribute legal fiction.  It also protects the rights of readers to purchase and enjoy all fiction in the privacy of their own imagination. It clarifies and rationalizes the role of financial services providers and pulls them out of the business of censoring legal fiction.  

Following implementation of their new policies, PayPal will have the most liberal, pro-First-Amendment policies of the major payment processors.  Will Google Checkout and Checkout by Amazon be next now that the credit card companies have clarified their positions, and have essentially given payment providers the permission to adopt more enlightened policies?   Finally, thanks to Selena Kitt of Excessica and Remittance Girl for helping me to understand and respect all fiction more than I ever have before.

This is a bright day for indie publishing.  In the old world, traditional publishers were the arbiters of literary merit.  Today, thanks to the rise of indie ebooks, the world is moving toward a broader, more inclusive definition of literary merit. Smashwords gives writers the power and freedom to publish.  Merit is decided by your readers.  Just as it should be.

Thanks,

Mark Coker

Founder

Smashwords


Lastly, I'd like to say:

Image credit

That's right. Dictionary.com says that freedom of speech guarantees... "the rights of free expression and action that are fundamental to democratic government. These rights include freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. The government is empowered, however, to restrict these freedoms if expression threatens to be destructive."

PayPal Censorship Update: Breakthrough! Maybe.

Wow, people. There was a new message from Smashwords on the 12th of March saying:

"PayPal update:  I met with PayPal this afternoon at their office in San Jose.  They will soon announce revised content policies that I expect will please the Smashwords community.  Effective immediately, we are returning our Terms of Service to back to its pre-February 24 state.  Beyond that, our friends at PayPal have asked me to hold off sharing additional details until they've had a chance to finalize their new policies. Thank you for your patience and support during this crazy last few weeks."

I'm sitting here with a huge grin on my face. Technically this wasn't my battle, since I don't write what was being banned (well, that free read, but that was free so I wasn't losing any money), but I felt it was necessary to join the uproar because censorship of literature is wrong if it interferes with freedom of speech/press (which basically says that you can publish what you want, as long as it doesn't directly encourage illegal activities (racism, child abuse, murder etc.) - or that's what Milton said). 

I'm trying to be calm, though, because I want to see an official statement from PayPal. Are they taking it all back? Or just parts? Which parts? It'll be interesting to see...

For those curious, I posted about Visa's denial of having pressured PayPal and now there's been a denial from MasterCard as well.

Bile and Brimstone: The PayPal Censorship

Wow, people. I don't know how to feel. I'm elated that Visa's given a response to Remittance Girl, saying they have absolutely nothing to do with PayPal's censorship. But I feel like throwing up when I read PayPal's blog post on the matter! Can you say double standard? Maybe the should hire some of the writers of banned erotica to write on their blog posts, because what this guy wrote - and the way he wrote it - catapults me into a fit of rage. Not the effect they want when they're trying to "set the record straight" and calm the people who have been "chattering" about PayPal's decision. 

I'm off now, to sit in a corner and breathe for a bit.

Header image credit

Cat image credit

New Development in Erotic Censorship

First, I'm having two giveaways: A Life Without You at Joyfully Jay's; Hot Hands and Grade-A-Sex Deal at Stumbling Over Chaos. They'll be open for a few days. You just have to leave a quick comment for a chance to win :)

Now, the main issue. I was too tired last night to finish my blog about the Paypal erotic censorship update and am I glad I was! 

Lately the credit card companies have been under blame for Paypal's sales restriction of erotic fiction featuring rape for titillation, bestiality (includes werecreatures in shifted form), incest (includes pseudo-incest), BDSM (yes, that one too!), and "barely legal"). Wait, they have not been under public blame, but apparently also under Paypal's blame! 

The theory flying around, regarding the credit card companies (CC), is that they're little by little bringing erotic fiction under their "high risk" category. In their high risk category are p.o.r.n sites and casinos where credit cards can more easily be manipulated. The word was that the CC's were classifying erotic fiction as p.o.r.n. But that's not all. Because indie authors have been making big bucks on erotic fiction, CC's supposedly wanted a bigger piece of the pie. How could they do that? By bringing erotic fiction into their high risk category where the "insurance" fee (percentage for each transaction) is much higher than normal. In other words, they'd get a lot more money for every purchase of erotic title. It's a good theory and I meant to write about it in more detail! However, there's been a new development.

No Boundaries Press has been actively fighting Paypal by inviting those who had to take their titles down from Smashwords, Bookstrand, and All Romance eBooks to vendor their "questionable" titles from the NBP store. They found a way around the system, but people were still wondering how they were able to since it's the credit card companies who have been hovering over the Paypal Terms of Service (ToS). Well, this is taken from the NBP blog:

I know some are saying the tokens will not work. Truth of the matter is, I’ve talked to various credit card companies and also read my customer agreements.

You can go to the Bunny Ranch and pay with your Visa card kids. I was promised by the companies i spoke with that it is PayPal NOT the credit card companies that PayPal is trying to blame.

Sometimes on adult items, as a seller, you can be charged higher percentage fees — sometimes.

So, getting rid of PayPal completely is the best bet. Bottom line is the credit companies don’t care where you spend–so long as you do.I know some are saying the tokens will not work. Truth of the matter is, I’ve talked to various credit card companies and also read my customer agreements.

You can go to the Bunny Ranch and pay with your Visa card kids. I was promised by the companies i spoke with that it is PayPal NOT the credit card companies that PayPal is trying to blame.

Sometimes on adult items, as a seller, you can be charged higher percentage fees — sometimes.

So, getting rid of PayPal completely is the best bet. Bottom line is the credit companies don’t care where you spend–so long as you do.

What the heck is going on here? 

Mind you, I now feel partly sympathetic to the retailers who've had to change their policies and have been subjected to public outrage. I say partly because they could have handled things better. There was no need, for example, for Bookstrand to kick out most indie authors. Smashwords could also have taken more time to consider their stand. But then, if you think about it, they had very little time to react. The retailers had to make snap decisions, and snap decisions can often be dangerously rash. No time to think things to the end, no time to slave over the letter to authors because the letters had to go out immediately or accounts would be frozen (and money confiscated, I've heard). There was actually a very sincere letter from Mark Coker, owner of Smashwords, and I'm gluing it to the bottom of this post.

Before I do, I'd like to say that the Stop Internet Censorship petition has reached its goal of 1000! 1343 people have signed and I'm hoping a lot more will before it's sent off.

Also, If you want to read more on what's been happening. S.V. Rowle has been collecting links since it started.

Mark Coker's 2nd letter to his authors:

The following email was sent to all Smashwords authors/publishers/agents Monday, February 27 who have published erotica at Smashwords.

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As with the first email from Friday (archived here: http://www.smashwords.com/press/release/27 ), you're receiving this message because you have previously published erotica content at Smashwords under your account at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/[[username]] tied to your email address, [[user_email]]. Just because you're receiving this email doesn't mean your book or books are affected. Read on.

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I'm writing to give you an update on where things stand. We are extending the deadline (previously set for tonight) for Smashwords authors/publishers/agents to voluntarily remove certain content (erotica featuring themes of rape, bestiality, incest) from Smashwords . I'll communicate the new deadline in a future email once I gain new information.

I had another call with PayPal this morning. Our conversation is continuing with them as I seek to achieve a less onerous, more sensible result. 

There's a sliver of hope that I might be able to obtain a more positive, less restrictive outcome than I communicated on Friday, yet it's unlikely we'll achieve the true result I want (no censorship) in the near term. Today, PayPal hinted at a more relaxed definition of prohibited content as, according to them [I'm paraphrasing], "probited boooks would be those for which rape, bestiality and incest are the major theme. If rape, bestiality and incest are incidental plot points, then that content might be allowable." 

This represents a significant clarification in our ongoing attempt to delineate the gray areas and push back the onerous, unfair and restrictive definitions as they now stand. It's an opening, but it's not the final word from PayPal. Our friends at PayPal are trying their their best to help Smashwords authors and publishers.

This potential relaxation doesn't solve the broader issue of censorship. I think if a writer wants to write fiction around the theme of [anything], I think they should be able to write it if it's legal.

Today's progress, while encouraging, also opens up new gray area. How does one judge whether the taboo subjects are incidental instances or major themes? Where does one draw the line? The PayPal rep and I agreed our discussion will continue, and they assured me our PayPal services will not be cut off as we both work in good faith to advance the discussions. 

A lot of people have been attacking Smashwords for my decision to comply with PayPal's requirements. They're pointing their arrows at the wrong target, and they're not helping their cause. We're working to effect positive long term change for the entire Smashwords community, and that includes all our erotica authors and readers. This change is possible only if we work together toward a common goal. When people spread lies that this is all part of a Smashwords plot to dispose of "icky books" (their words, not mine), or try to portray our actions as some sexist attack against women, or worse attacks I won't repeat here, they're wrong. Despite the ugliness shown to me and Smashwords over the weekend, I'm still working to protect these very people who attack us. The attackers don't understand what we're doing on their behalf behind the scenes, and even if they did understand I don't expect them to agree with our approach. I'd rather work with PayPal in good faith than martyr the entire Smashwords community upon the stake of this impending deadline. 

This is only the first chapter in this battle. Even if we fail in the short term we survive to fight another day. Regardless of the near term outcome, we will continue to engage to effect positive change with your help.

Over the weekend, many Smashwords authors and publishers demanded we abandon PayPal and find a new payment processor. It's not so simple, and it doesn't solve the greater problem hanging over everyone's head. PayPal is trying to implement the requirements of credit card companies, banks and credit unions. This is where it's all originating. These same requirements will eventually rain down upon every other payment processor. PayPal is trying to maintain their relationships with the credit card companies and banks, just as we want to maintain our relationship with PayPal. People who argue PayPal is the evil villain and we should drop them are missing the bigger picture. Should we give up on accepting credit cards forever? The answer is no. This goes beyond PayPal. Imagine the implications if credit card companies start going after the major ebook retailers who sell erotica?

My objective is for PayPal and Smashwords to pull the credit card companies into a more open discussion about these issues. I want all financial institutions to reevaluate their policies. I want the banks to change or clarify their policies toward something more enlightened. I want PayPal to loosen their policies. We need financial institutions to get out of the business of telling writers what they can write and what readers can read. Without this much-needed debate, the slippery slope gets more slippery for all indies.

Indie authors are the biggest publishers of erotica. Already, one retailer/distributor, Bookstrand, decided to drop all indies from their store. I can only assume they decided the angry authors were more trouble than they were worth. Our business is all about serving indie authors, so even if some segments of our author community are shooting arrows at us, we still want to help them work through this. The campaign at hand goes beyond erotica authors. It's an indie issue. Indies are breaking the boundaries previously set by large traditional publishers. This boundary-breaking scares people. We should welcome the debate about what a "good book" should look like. I think a good book is anything legal that readers want to read, even if I don't want to read it myself.

This campaign represents an incredible long shot. To move this forward, I need your help. Even if you don't publish in the categories directly impacted by this crackdown, this campaign matters to you. 

What can you do to move things forward? First, direct your attention where it matters most. Contact your credit card company or congressperson and tell them you want financial services companies out of the business of censoring what writers and readers are free to imagine with fiction. Blog about it. Tweet about it. Contact your favorite blogger and encourage them to raise awareness. Start petitions and tell financial institutions you want their censors out of your head. Contact the media. The media, with your urging, has the power to shine a bright light on the dangerous slipperly slope of censorship by financial institutions. 

If the media (both traditional and social) calls on credit card companies and banks to honestly answer these simple questions, then they'll either be compelled to acknowledge the absurdity of their policies or they'll be compelled to rewrite their policies. This troublesome tide can shift if financial institutions are forced to answer why they're prohibiting legal fiction. 

I realize my message to you today cannot possibly answer all the questions you may have. Know that we're working for all authors, even those likely to suffer from whatever ultimate changes we implement in the near term. We all want censors off our backs and out of our heads, and if that's not the result we achieve, then we'll at least work to get you more clearly defined rules. Bear with us.

I will post this message in the Smashwords Press room at http://www.smashwords.com/press so it's archived.

Thanks,

Mark Coker

Founder

Smashwords

P.S. Please think carefully before emailing me. Although I try to reply to everyone and stay accessible, the flood of emails ultimately prevents me from serving your interests. I will send out additional updates via email as warranted, and will also post interim updates to Site Updates at   

https://www.smashwords.com/about/beta

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Erotic Censorship and a Home for the Homeless Books

Most of you have probably heard about what's happening with Bookstrand*, ARe*, and Smashwords* (who are likely the first of many to come). They're being bullied and threatened by PayPal to remove "incest, bestiality, rape, and underage erotica" from their lists or their accounts with PayPal will be frozen and their money confiscated (!!). Admittedly, I would never read three of those four subjects, but I have been known to enjoy brotherly love (Lee Brazil's excellent Telling the Truth, for one). I have spent the entire day reading up on this and weeding out fact from fiction.

PayPal is using their market dominance to push distributors (and probably publishers soon - they use PayPal to pay their authors) to censor out material that "could be considered obscene". I ask, who decides what is obscene and what isn't? Is bestiality, rape, incest, and underage erotica obscene? Yes, I'd say so, but this isn't about what's obscene and what isn't. A guy running naked through a park can also be considered obscene, but that's not even an issue here. Neither is Lolita, a classic book about a relationship between a pedophile and a child (tell me if that's going to be pulled off shelves? I think not). This is about censorship.

But it's not only PayPal. In a way I feel sorry for the distributors who have had to react without notice to PayPal's brutal demands. They've had to make snap decisions and there's been no time to find an alternate way of payments, because PayPal basically says "do this or you won't get the money in your accounts". However, the distributors mentioned above are taking things further for various and unnecessary reasons. They're also pulling down titles with "barely legal" content and "pseudo incest". What the hell??

-- Barely legal means 18 and 19 years old. People that age are legally allowed to have sex, so why would anyone restrict that? So far these distributors are only focusing on "barely legal" girls, so I'm safe (because mine are guys), but they're knocking on the door right next to mine and I don't like it. 

-- "Pseudo incest" means sexual relations between (in this case) grown step/foster children and step/foster fathers/mothers or step/foster siblings (this last one is popular). Again, "pseudo incest" isn't illegal - Woody Allen anyone? Besides, if we're going for things that are illegal but still written in books, then how about murder, theft, and plots to distribute a virus? If PayPal believes that writing about incest will encourage incest, then shouldn't writing about murder (like the Dexter books) also encourage murder? That would pull off a whole lot of books and make a mass of people angry.

In short, distributors are pulling off their shelves perfectly "legal" material!

I think it's right to mention here that the only fiction that has ever been judged as illegal is erotic content that depicts children in a sexual manner for titillation. None - and I mean NONE - other illegal content has or can be judged illegal because it's fiction (killing a man in a book can not land you in jail). Why the pedophile fiction? Because when children are involved, it's a whole different ballgame.

Content that "can be considered obscene" is a very broad term. What's next? Well these things are considered obscene by a lot of people: GLBT literature, gay marriage, BDSM, public display of affection between same-sex couples, trinogamy's (mmm), strip clubs, sex in public bathrooms, sex outside of wedlock, prostitution, anal play/sex. Those are just a few examples of many. Those are things I read and write. Do you?

There's a petition running to appeal to Paypal. Please, please sign this if you value freedom of speech, press, and personal choice. Banks and other financial institutions shouldn't dictate what we choose to write and read (or even buy, as long as it's legal). Where do they even come off trying to? It may not affect your genre NOW, but if we let this go, your content might be next. This also affects readers because PayPal is telling them what they can an cannot read (yes, "can" - not "may" - because people will have a harder time getting access to what they want to read).

Although Bookstrand, ARe and Smashwords have - at least for the moment - caved under pressure, others are fighting. No Boundaries Press is working on offering these new homeless books with "questionable" content a home on their sale site. The authors won't have to sign a publishing deal with them. They won't have to drop their current publisher and they won't have to stop self-publishing these specific titles. NBP's just offering a way to sell these books that are under attack and will charge no more sales fee than any of the above distributors. They're very adamant about fighting this censorship and they've found a different way to handle payments. They're not just offering this to authors, but publishers as well (and self-publishers, in case I didn't make that clear). Check out their blog if you're interested and please spread the word if you know someone who's been a victim of this witch hunt.

Lastly, if you're interested in reading more about this subject, I recommend Selena Kitt's blog. It's very thorough but in no way a dry read on the matter. According to her, she'll have to remove said subjects from her store AND any book that contains BDSM (and most of her books do). I haven't heard BDSM content mentioned by anyone else, but she was told she had to when she asked PayPal directly.

Here are more links on this topic:

Two Legs Bad: An Open Letter to Mark Coker (owner of Smashwords) - Mark himself even replied to this one.

Putting the World According to PayPal In Perspective - This is just hilarious. A fun way to learn about what's happening.

Erotica Book Banning Round Up - with more links!

Censorship and Paypal: UnConstitutional and WRONG - Wayne has listed emails to where people can send their complaints to PayPal. I'm quoting a bit from his blog:

"A while back, I spoke on this blog about my frustration and anger with PayPal. The issue at the time was that they unilaterally froze my account because I bought $6 worth of novellas from Astraea Press in aid of a charity drive. I later reviewed these books, only to learn to my chagrin that PayPal had denied the payment and frozen my account.

After this disagreeable incident, I finally decided I’d had quite enough of PayPal and their unreasonably restrictive clauses. After all, no one has the right to view my purchases and tell me which ones are acceptable and which are not. I’m an adult male in the United States of America, and as such I enjoy all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.

Or do I?

PayPal doesn’t seem to think so." (Author J.S. Wayne)

* These are links to where you can see the letters from these distributors. Here are the credits: Author Cat Johnson has Bookstrand letter, The Self Publishing Revolution has the All Romance eBooks letter, The Digital Reader has the Smashwords letter.

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