A Brand New Novel
Josephine Baker, the early-20th-century African-American dancer, comic, and singer–hugely famous in Paris. Did you know that she was also a spy for the French Resistance during WWII?
Callout
Tag Archives: self-censorship
No laughing matter: “Index on Censorship” censors itself
Where are the heroes? Now that Index on Censorship has failed us, where in the UK and America can we turn for defense of this most precious of freedoms
Does fear conquer all?
Dear Reader, “Aren’t you scared?” I get asked this question all the time, most recently in the wake of the news that three radical extremist Muslim men conspired to set fire to the home office of Gibson Square, the London publisher that had been set to publish “The Jewel of Medina” last October. The full …
In Denmark: Talking about free speech
Every cloud, the saying goes, has a silver lining. And so it goes with “The Jewel of Medina,” being yanked out of publication by Random House, the world’s largest English-language publisher, just months before it was scheduled to appear on bookshelves in the U.S., then being the subject of threats in Serbia and an attack …
FOX in the “chicken” house
Dear Reader, I began getting calls and letters on Sunday regarding my interview with FOX News, which I have written about before. It appears to be as I feared: The station has focused on Random House’s “double standard” in its decision in May not to publish “The Jewel of Medina.” I haven’t seen the newscast, …
In defense of PEN
Dear Reader, It was surprising to read that Lorraine Adams, author of today’s review of THE JEWEL OF MEDINA in the New York Times, has a journalism background. Good reporters check their facts before they publish, but in this case Ms. Adams has dropped the proverbial ball. First she tells the reader that my book …