This is Northumberland Calling 15.9.23

They cancel here, they cancel there, they cancel them everywhere until they can’t edition

Hello America! This is Northumberland calling.

The British government released its annual social mobility report. The interesting part is that Irish travellers who are white continue to be the bottom of educational achievement at the end of KS2 by some considerable margin. The top achievers are Asians –Chinese.  The entire report makes for interesting reading but it is lengthy. The education stuff is on page 129. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1182799/state-of-the-nation-2023.pdf  

If you want a quick primer, this is the Telegraph’s take: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/12/chinese-children-outperform-white-british-peers-report/ or https://archive.is/McAa5

The BBC decided that they would have a go at cancelling Roisin Murphy, the Irish singer who made private remarks about puberty blockers,  deleting her from the schedule for Music Radio 6 and substituting a rapper instead. The BBC said they made the change to better reflect national poetry day.  People were unimpressed, particularly as the BBC music station decided and defended playing a song which stated ‘kick all TERFs , don’t break a sweat’. They have only played one of Murphy’s songs since the row broke out where before they regularly featured her songs in the schedule. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12519833/BBC-women-gender-6-Music-Roisin-Murphys-puberty-blockers.html

However, Roisin Murphy’s album is at number 2 and vying for the top spot in the UK charts. She has just announced a UK and Europe tour. The venues are decent sized (they appear to be larger than the ones who cancelled her) and include O2 City Hall in Newcastle on 14 Feb 2024. Tickets go on general release on the 22nd (1) Róisín Murphy on X: "Me and the lads are going ON TOUR! I’m thrilled to announce both the UK and European tour to celebrate Hit Parade in February and March next year. With full band, exceptional visuals, new songs and old, a little something for everyone 🖤 General on sale 22nd of September.

https://t.co/dM0Afuz0H9" / X (twitter.com) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/14/roisin-murphy-olivia-rodrigo-no1-album-after-trans-row/  or https://archive.is/gHelB

Currently sitting at number2 in Amazon.co.uk top 100

The TRA are having a go at cancelling comedians who dared to provide puff quotes for Graham Lineham’s memoir Tough Crowd. Jonathon Ross, no stranger to cancellation and Richard Ayoade had dared say something pleasant about the book which is supposed to have several masterclasses on writing comedy contained within. For that sin, they are now supposed to be shunned (or something). Lineham reports the preorders of said book are going very well.  A quick check on Amazon.co.uk this morning shows the book sitting at number 2 of all books sold. This is an impressive number of books to shift. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12517239/trans-activists-cancel-richard-ayoade-jonathan-ross-graham-linehans-book.html

This is the Telegraph’s take. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/14/trans-activists-cancel-ayoade-backing-linehan/  or https://archive.is/IYbgx

Agents have the right to say who they want to represent or what they are looking for. However, they should be looking to providing page-turning reads which will resonate, rather than tick-of immutable characteristics  which play to identity politics. It actually demeans the authors they are representing.  And demonstrates the agent’s  lack of knowledge in favour of the pursuit of the fashionable (not that this is new). For example, Gunter Grass already visited many of the tropes in The Tin Drum  with a disabled child protagonist  in WW2. Or Alexandre Dumas, himself mixed race had a cross dresser in the Counte of Monte Christo. Gareth Roberts has done a good op ed on the subject:  https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/09/13/to-hell-with-woke-publishers/   This is the Telegraph’s article which exposed the practice: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/09/literary-agents-authors-lgbtq-disabled-people-colour/ or https://archive.ph/hrDLc 

If you want to see what happens when school boards are over zealous in interpreting directives about culling books, see the empty book shelves in Ontario, Canada.  I found this story chilling – all books published before 2008 culled. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/peel-school-board-library-book-weeding-1.6964332

The trans guidance for schools in England has not been issued yet but the children’s commissioner says it should be. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/14/schools-trans-guidance-childrens-commissioner-rachel-souza/ or https://archive.is/FmM73

IN breaking news, a Federal court in CA has blocked a school’s trans gender policy, saying it does a trifecta of harm and that parental responsibility is enshrined in the 14th amendment. A glimmer of hope. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/judge-blocks-escondido-school-districts-transgender-student-privacy-policy/ar-AA1gJYG7

Finally a huge thank you to Allison for taking a photo of my latest in a bookstore. I really appreciate it.

NB Next week, This is Northumberland calling will be on Saturday as I am going down for the annual author’s day at Harlequin/Mills & Boon in London and will be travelling on the Friday. It is a meeting, a three course lunch and then a party plus party bags with the editors. One of the few times I can feel like it is a glamourous job. Most of the time, it is me sipping a cold cup of tea, staring at a computer screen trying to decide it the words actually work…