HBO Doubles Down on Support of JK Rowling, Defends Transphobic Comments as “Personal Views”
Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
HBO Doubles Down on Support of Rowling
As HBO prepares to begin production of its planned decade-long Harry Potter reboot TV series, CEO Casey Bloys is doubling down on the network’s partnership with and support of J.K. Rowling, who has a long and well-documented history of transphobic remarks and is being sued for cyberbullying boxer Imane Khelif during this year’s summer olympics. As Variety notes, when Rowling first aired her belief “that transgender women are men and transgender men are women” in 2020, HBO parent company Warner Bros. released a usefully vague statement reiterating that “a diverse and inclusive culture has never been more important to our company and to our audiences around the world.”
At the time, the statement read as the network’s attempt to protect itself from reputational guilt-by-association. If comments Bloys made this week that “J.K. Rowling has a right to express her personal views” are any indication, though, reputational harm is either no longer a concern, or, more likely, HBO has decided that the potential cost of distancing itself from Rowling outweighs the cost of aligning itself with anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. Let’s be clear: Bloys is not wrong that Rowling has a right to her views, but that right does not include freedom from criticism or consequences. HBO is choosing to support Rowling, and that choice sends a powerful and disappointing message. It’s hard to imagine that HBO would have been willing to continue its association with Rowling if the personal views she expressed were racist in nature, and the response to transphobia should be no different.
Verity Heads to the Big Screen
Anne Hathaway has been cast to star in Amazon MGM’s forthcoming adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Verity. Hathaway will play the titular character, well-known writer Verity Crawford, who was injured in mysterious accident and needs someone to step in and finish the remaining books in her successful series. Verity’s husband hires a struggling writer named Lowen Ashleigh to do the job, and lo and behold (Lowen behold? Sorry.), when she begins sorting through the papers in Verity’s office, she finds the manuscript for an autobiography that reveals all manner of secrets. Will it be good? That question seems beside the point, as this year’s Blake Lively-led adaptation of It Ends With Us was quite bad (we saw it so you don’t have to) and still cleared $300 million at the box office.
50 Notable Works of Fiction for 2024
The Washington Post has been revealing its selections best books of the year in genre-focused lists, and I’m delighted to report that this collection of 50 notable works of fiction has not just many familiar titles but many under-the-radar and small press picks as well. Bonnie Jo Campbell’s The Waters is near the top of my list of under-appreciated novels of 2024. Couldn’t be happier to see it recognized.
How to Prepare Your Library Before Trump Returns to Office
An educated populace that has access to information is critically important for a functioning democracy. Here’s Book Riot’s Kelly Jensen on how to plan and take action that will help ensure that access to books and facts via public schools and libraries remains a right for all as we brace for an incoming administration that has promised to diminish if not outright destroy them.
