Dear Ms Solomon,
We, the undersigned writers and industry professionals, are writing to express our support for Joanne Harris, in light of the calls for her removal or resignation as the Society of Authors Chair of the Board of Management (henceforth referred to as ‘Chair’).
Ms. Harris has, since her appointment, been a stalwart, fair, dedicated, and passionate Chair, who has frequently gone above and beyond her role as Chair to champion all authors, to acknowledge and speak out on authors’ concerns, to patiently answer questions, and advocate for the rights of authors, and who has also used her personal Twitter platform to offer writing advice, stories, and support to the many thousands of people who follow her. She is, in our opinion, the best person for the job, that’s why we voted for her.
Because of this, we are shocked, dismayed, and frankly disturbed by the aggressive and vehement responses to some of Ms. Harris’s recent posts on Twitter, and concerned by the seemingly coordinated attacks against her by a small, but vocal, minority, who have become known to many of us who use Twitter as persons who regularly use their own platforms to intimidate and bully those who do not agree with their ideologies regarding trans and non-binary people. We note some of the signees of another letter to you, which condemns Ms. Harris, have, in fact, been previously suspended or banned from Twitter—the platform this latest row centers around—for violations of Twitter’s rules, which include sending abusive tweets, harassment, and what Twitter determines to be ‘hateful conduct’ (Please see the Twitter Rules for a fuller description). It is also worth noting that English law recognises demonstrated hostility against, or motivated by, transgender identity as a hate crime. These crimes are covered by legislation (Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and section 66 of the Sentencing Act 2020) which allows prosecutors to apply for an uplift in sentence for those convicted of a hate crime (amended 17/8/22 for clarity after feedback, text taken from https://www.cps.gov.uk/crime-info/hate-crime).
The issue in question appears to be that Ms. Harris posted a poll about authors receiving death threats, following the attack on Salman Rushdie, which some people interpreted as both flippant, and potentially a slight regarding another author. Upon realising her words had been misinterpreted and were causing some distress, Ms. Harris removed the original post, and went on to explain that she meant no ill will to any other author by it, accepting that it was possible her words had caused some offence, however unintended.
She has since had to repeat her explanation of her intentions on multiple occasions, been subject to unfounded accusations claiming that her lack of support is because of her personal disagreement with another author’s position on trans and non-binary people, has subsequently been accused of personal bias relating to her members of her family (including the use of offensive terminology by those who disagree with her), and is now being attacked and condemned in national newspapers, despite the fact that it is neither her job, moral responsibility or civic duty to rush to the defense of a single author on Twitter when their fans take umbrage at some slight, imagined or otherwise. That is not what we, the members of the Society of Authors, voted for when we elected her our Chair.
And as our colleagues so rightly pointed out in their letter, it is clearly states in the “Where We Stand” section on the Society of Authors website that the Society opposes “in the strongest terms any attempt to stifle or control the author’s voice whether by censorship, imprisonment, execution, hate speech or trolling”. So we are at a loss to understand why the signatories of the other letter believe they or the Society should have any say over the contents of Ms. Harris’s tweets, why her tweets on her personal account, which existed well in advance of her appointment as Chair, should be subject to declarations and addendums which they feel are necessary, and why any of the above is grounds to call for her removal. She has not broken the code of the Society, nor the law, nor has she brought the Society into disrepute, in our opinion.
We have not included signatories who felt the need to conceal their identities; we are all deeply proud of our support for Ms. Harris, and openly stand alongside her during this difficult time.
If you would like to add your signature, please email thesineatersdaughter@gmail.com
Signed
Melinda Salisbury
Rakie Bennett
Jacq Murphy
Ava Aldred
Juno Dawson
Emma Carroll
Kiran Millwood-Hargrave
Clare Povey
Mobeena Khan
Steven Lenton
Kate Neilan
Tri Northern
Katherine Woodfine
Laura Elliott
Kirsty Logan
Lucy Powrie
Aisha Bushby
Helen Corcoran
Darran Stobbart
James Smythe
Lisa Sargeant
Guinevere Glasfurd
Grace Harrison
Harry Woodgate
Jamie-Lee Turner
Victoria Pearson
L.R Lam
Simon James Green
Lizzie Huxley-Jones
Marie Gardiner
Lilly Saunders
Charlie Morris
Chloe Timms
Debi Alper
Kaz Mahoney
Lucy Saxon
Alice Broadway
Imogen Hermes Gower
Nydia Hetherington
Danielle Culling
Liz Ottosson
Zohra Nabi
Sophie Cameron
Amanda Berriman
Vikki Patis
Francesca May
Sinead O’Hart
Kizzia Mildmay
Neil Denny
Joanna Nadin
Stephanie Shields
Nick Coveney
Florence H.R Scott
Benjamin Appleby-Dean
Beth Kemp
Alexandra Heminsley
Debbie Moon
John Cordial
Theo Malings
Marilyn Livingstone
Roz Kaveney
Fiona Longmuir
Mark White
Bonnie Helen Hawkins
Joanna Lambert
Marianne Holmes
Amy Williams
Polis Loizou
Helen Caton Hughes
S. J. Groenewegen
Maire Stafford
James Moran
Aislinn O’Loughlin
Garry Keenor
Kat Day
Jarlath Gregory
Carrie Etter
Clara Vulliamy
Kathy Martin
Hamza Jahanzeb, Publishing Professional
Ruth Loten
Kate Weston
Claire Cronin
Katrina Charman
Padraig Kenny
Susan Murray
Amy Jones
Caroline Logan
Chris McCrudden
JJA Harwood
Sareeta Domingo
Susie Day
Morgan Owen
David Llewellyn
Rose Ruane
Patrick Samphire
David Owen
Joanna Howard
Katherine Webber-Tsang
Keris Stainton
Will Hill
Zak Jane Keir
Novalee Madison
Sunny Singh
Karin Celestine
Katy Moran
Kat Dunn
Nikki Donaghue
Stevie Finegan
Beth Roberts
Anna Terreros-Martin
Jamie Smart
Dominic Stevenson
Rachel Mann
Clare Harlow
Faye Osborne
Misa Buckley
Emma Petfield
Claire Askew
Holly Race
Jess O’Thomson
Cavan Scott
Deborah Harvey
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Claire Copperman
Donna Moore
Rani Selvarajah
Jonathan Pinnock
Charlie Brigden
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Phoenix Andrews
Matt Killeen
Miranda Dickinson
Paul Fischer
Non Pratt
Shirley-Anne McMillan
Fleur Hitchcock
Sophie Anderson
Nicole Burstein
Rachel McCormack, lifestyle writer
Kate Young
Fox Benwell
Gemma Stone
V.C Willow
Julianna Neuhouser
Angeline B. Adams
Remco van Straten
Jenna Louise Skinner
Kate Keehan
Jo Clarke
Justin Lee Anderson
Sarah Maria Griffin
Frances Coppola
Kesia Lupo
Jane Stemp
Jane Markland
Fiona Leitch
Claire Dobson
William Hussey
Lynda Clark
Chimene Suleyman
Ali Coyle
Steven Butler
James Nicol
Lea Albrechtsen
Moyette Gibbons, Communications Director at Black Girl Writers
Shiloh Walker
Carrie Marshall
Sacha Coward
Joanne Devine
Mel Taylor-Bessent
Adam Lowe
Dr. Michael Marten
Dr Melanie Ramdarshan Bold
Monisha Rajesh
Mel Darbon
S A Laybourn, Editor
Bethany Rutter
Emma Carroll
Eleanor Pender
Kerry Drewery
Sera Milano
Lex Croucher
Rhian Tracey
Lou Abercrombie
Louie Stowell
Lindsay Galvin
Alice Sutherland-Hawes
Tamsin Rosewell
Jennifer Bridge
Dr Sarah May, Senior Lecturer in Public History and Heritage Swansea University
Sam McQueen
TS Luikart
Louise Lamont
Tom Huddleston
Natasha Brown
Elen Caldecott
Bethany Black
Marilia Savvides
Alex Clare
Leonie Lock
Eleanor Rees
Jason Michael McCann
Jennifer Killick
Natalie Bunch
Tanya Landman
Natasha Kindred
Vanessa Gordon-Dseagu
Felix Hewison-Carter
Iain Lowson
Amy Kenyon
Stephen Cox
Catherine Johnson
Cheryl Sonnier
Andrew J King
Russell Jones
Helen Peters
Deirdre Sullivan
Jessica Gregson
Tufayel Ahmed
Eve Ainsworth
Cal Moriarty
Michael Langan
Sian Meades-Williams
Georgina Beazeley
Laura Wood
Amy Key
Aimee Oliver-Powell
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Maxine Davies
Keith Brooke
Helen Sedgwick
Bea Fitzgerald
Lesley McDowell
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Morgan Lloyd Malcolm
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Catherine Baker
Sinéad Gleeson
Victoria M. Adams
Michael Marshall
Louise Finch
Thanhmai Bui-Van
Kathleen Jowett
Alistair Chisholm
Martha Ashby-Offord
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Patrice Lawrence
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Martyn Waites
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John Baker
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Ruth Frances Long (Jessica Thorne)
Alex T Smith
Sue Ransom
Dominic Wakeford
RJ Barker
Louisa Reid
Alice Vincent
Joanna Boyle
Alec Newman
Katherine Rundell
Ed Cox
Dr Barbara C. Morden
Becca Caddy
Julie Cohen
Nikesh Shukla
Zainab Juma
Suzanne Martin
Tom Jeffreys
Cat Mitchell
Anthony Vahni (Capildeo)
Amy Louise Brennan
Jacqueline McQuade
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Karen Sullivan
Clare Chase
J L Hall
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Penguin Random House UK office unions committee
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Emma Roberts
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Nicola Slawson
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MJ Brocklebank
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Mat Riches
Chris Nickson
Nicola Madden
Line Langebek
Robyn Little
Stephanie Sy-Quia
Kenny Boyle
Joe Skeaping
Jana Funke
Marigold Atkey
Sally Nicholls
Clare Sambrook
Dr. Joan Passey
Oliver Tew
Graeme K Talboys
Justin Davies
Ed McDonald
Fokkina McDonnell
Sara Marshall-Ball
Gemma Varnom
Sarah Jasmon
Sophie Devlin
Lucie McKnight Hardy
Dan Coxon
Iain Morrison
Aoife Martin
Dr. Sara L. Uckelman
Stella Duffy
Sophie & Scarlett Rickard
Alexandra Hamer
Laura Mauro
Shelley Silas
Dion Winton-Polak
Jo Lindsay Walton
Dan Holloway
Simon Kurt Unsworth
Bethany Handford
Fay Roberts
Jennifer Hayashi Danns
Theresa Derwin
Caitlin Knight
Dr Z E White
Cecily Blench
Emily Randall
Ace Coggins
Anne Booth
Kate Swyer
Penny Jones
Bethan Morgan, Editor
Clare Weze
Leo Hunt
Rebecca Boden
Clare Worley
Steven Shaw
Kim Moore
James Goss
G.M. White
Kat Brown
Dawn Finch
Leodora Darlington
Jaz Davison
Tania Ahsan/O’Donnell
James Withey
David Watkins
Anna Carey
Molly Naylor
Leslie Storm
Viviane Schwarz
Sarah Armstrong
John Lees
Rachel Ali
Jen Calleja
Nyla Ahmad
Aliette de Bodard
Benjamin Kurt Unsworth
Sarah Jane Butler
Steven Pryse
Urmi Merchant
Lucy Jane Santos
Emma Crawshaw
James Silvester
A W Earl
Jacqueline Ward
Sam Kenyon
John Cresswell
Kathryn L Kettle
Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff
Paul Ilett
Matt Zandstra
Diane Purkiss
Orna Ross
James Brogden
Laura Shanahan
Charlotte Geater
Katherine Inskip
Priya Sharma
Natasha Bell
Lauren K. Nixon
Francoise Harvey
Matthew Teller
Dr. Jo Clement
Rick Dove
Beverley Birch
Esther Tyldesley
Jaye Em Edgecliff
Nils Shukla
Katherine Kirk
Paul Van Der Spiegel
Dr James D Williams
Claire Cartwright
Jay Prosser
Kathryn Evans
Lesley Storm
Hannah Berry
Kate Birch
Liz Kessler
Anna Day
Varsha Shah
Claire Dean
Holly Seddon
Michael Hambling
And with sincere thanks to the many who emailed to offer support, but whose signatures have not been included as they are not authors, writers, or industry professionals. Thank you
melinda salisbury 