Members of the #DignidadLiteraria movement, a coalition that formed in response to the controversy around the new novel American Dirt, gathered outside the offices of Macmillan Publishers in New York on Monday to announce an agreement made with the publisher in the wake of heavy criticism about the book and the publishing industry.
Macmillan agreed to committing to substantially increasing Latinx representation, from authors to staff, at the publisher. The company agreed to write up an action plan within 90 days and meet with representatives from the movement in 30 days, said David Bowles, a writer and cofounder of the #DignidadLiteraria movement, at a press conference held moments after a private meeting with the publisher.
“This is a clear victory. … We think this is a move in the right direction,” Bowles said. “We thank Macmillan for reaching out to us and asking us to come to New York and sit down with them.”
Over the last two weeks, American Dirt, the third novel by author Jeanine Cummins, who identifies as white and Puerto Rican, has sparked controversy for its depiction of the Mexican immigrant experience that many Mexican American writers say is inaccurate and offensive. Backlash from the book prompted Flatiron Books, a division of Macmillan, to cancel the publicity tour for American Dirt, citing concerns for Cummins’ safety “based on specific threats to booksellers and the author”.
“Cummins spent five years of her life writing this book with the intent to shine a spotlight on tragedies facing immigrants,” a statement from Bob Miller, the president of Flatiron Books, said at the time. “For that reason, it’s unfortunate that she is the recipient of hatred from within the very communities she sought to honor.”
Critics argued that the aggressive marketing campaign the book was afforded, despite what they lambasted as its disrespectful characterizations, proved that more diversity was overdue in the publishing industry.
In response to concerns about the broader publishing industry, Knowles and other Latinx writers formed a coalition called #DigidadLiteraria to “combat the invisibility of Latinx authors, editors and executives in the US publishing industry,” according to the group.
A recent survey of the publishing industry by Lee & Low Books, a multicultural children’s publisher, found that 76% of 7,893 responses they received from employees in the industry identified as white. When they conducted the survey in 2015, the number was 79%.
The writers gathered outside Macmillan’s offices on Monday emphasized that the book’s depiction of the Mexican immigrant experience was hurtful and insensitive.
“I know what it is like to see children fleeing terror have their tender skin shredded by barbed wire,” said writer Roberto Lovato, a cofounder of the #DignidadLiteraria movement. “From this perspective, I cannot fathom how a writer or a major publishing company can celebrate a book launch with centerpieces made to look like barbed wired fence for a border wall,” referring to a picture from a dinner celebrating the book’s launch.
“This is not just a problem of Flatiron or Macmillan, this is a problem of the entire industry,” Lovato said.
In the crowd of about 20 people who attended the press conference were a few employees of Macmillan Publishers who came to show their support for the movement.
One employee attending the press conference, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of professional repercussions said that as a child of immigrants from Central America, they felt skeptical about the book months before its release. “Its publicity and marketing, at a time when there are children being kidnapped, children being detained, children dying … it’s too sensitive of a topic to get away with.”
“It looks like this white woman wrote about a border crossing as a thriller to a very specific white audience,” the employee said.
But speaking up in a big company with few other Latinx employees is difficult, the employee said.
“We’ve been… hearing about diversity and inclusion over and over and not seeing any change,” another employee said. “I don’t feel my opinions would be valued. If I went straight to Flatiron offices and said, ‘Hey, I don’t know if this book is a good idea.’ It’s not going to matter.”
