I wrote previously on the subject of the proposals by book publishers to place age-related guidance information on book covers, and was heartened to have a kind comment on that post from Alan Garner for my trouble, something that indicated that the importance of the web presence was being recognised and utilised by the ranks of writers, librarians and readers massing against these proposals.
Today I have received a mass email from Philip Pullman, detailing his unofficial minutes for a meeting that took place this last Thursday between himself and various publishers’ representatives. I’m loath to reprint that email (or parts thereof) as it is, first and foremost, an email possibly not meant for public dissemination; secondly, the official minutes of the meeting are pending and will, presumably, be made publicly available. And, as the email states, it is Pullman’s recollection of the meeting, and may be prone to faults of memory.
However, the mail contains a short, mutually-agreed upon statement that it seems fair to print here, which is this:
‘At a meeting involving The Publishers Association, the Society of Authors, and Philip Pullman (on behalf of the signatories of the online statement), the publishers were happy to confirm that there has been, and remains, no question of age guidance being added to a book without full consultation with the author. The remaining point of difference, which is to be considered further, was that those speaking for authors feel strongly that authors should have the right to refuse to have age guidance on their books.’
Now, it doesn’t take a detailed reading of the above to see that the publishers haven’t really agreed to anything with this statement, beyond that they will consult the author on their opinion, and that they will not concede the right of the author to refuse to have their books rated.
So, if you haven’t already added your voice to the debate, the petition is here, which page also contains an email address for adding your name to the petition. If you have children, and you would like them to grow up in a country where their reading habits and abilities aren’t handily dictated to them, you should probably give it a look.

The first issue of Rol Hirst’s PJANG! (”People Just Ain’t No Good”) is now available, featuring a selection of stories to illustrate the truism of the title.

Entries (RSS)