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<div class="at-above-post-homepage addthis_tool" data-url="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/literary-grifters-predators/"></div><p>This month writers were shocked at two different stories about the ways people can take advantage of them. Clients of <a href="https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/the1stdaughter/">Danielle Smith</a>, the literary agent who started Lupine Grove Creative, accused her of fraud and she <a href="https://querytracker.net/agent.php?agent=5098">shut down her agency</a>. Writer <a href="http://www.annamarch.com/">Anna March</a> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-ca-jc-anna-march/">lied to become part of writing communities and took advantage of numerous writers</a> financially and emotionally; she admitted many of the facts on the website for her <a href="https://roarfeminist.org/2018/06/14/a-letter-from-anna-march/">now-defunct magazine</a> but denied the implications.</p>
<p>The one-two punch of these stories coming out at the same time raises the question of why writers are susceptible to being taken advantage of in these ways and what we should do about it. There are a number of reasons, three of which stand out given these particular stories. First, there is no single set of rules about how publishing works, whether at magazines or big publishing houses. This leads to the second reason, which is the lack of transparency in publishing. At every stage there are layers between writers and their published work, and every layer provides an opportunity for missing information. Finally, writers often work alone but seek out community, which can lead to them trusting people they shouldn’t.</p>
<p>While writers do have a number of organizations that advocate for their interests, such as the <a href="https://www.authorsguild.org/">Authors Guild</a> and <a href="https://pen.org/">PEN America</a>, these organizations don’t set pay scales for the work writers do. Book authors receive advances of wildly differing sizes — <a href="https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/">Publishers Marketplace</a> has <a href="https://absolutewrite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-208398.html">deal description</a> ranges that are so broad as to be entertaining — and magazine publishers’ rates vary wildly. Internet outlets pay notoriously poorly, many offering only exposure in lieu of actual money, leading some writers, such as <a href="https://tinyletter.com/alexanderchee/letters/on-writing-for-love-or-money">Alexander Chee</a>, to explain publicly why they are disinclined to write for free. Without rules in place for how publishing professionals should treat writers, unscrupulous people have a lot of room to maneuver.</p>
<p>Publishing has long been something of a cipher when it comes to its inner workings, and not just about money. Writers who work with agents aren’t always aware of what the agents tell editors about their work, or how many editors they do and don’t contact, and how careful they are about what they say. Agent <a href="https://www.tridentmediagroup.com/agents/mark-gottlieb/">Mark Gottleib</a> has <a href="https://absolutewrite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-46438-p-4.html">come under fire</a> recently for failing to communicate with his clients about how many editors he contacts and lack of professionalism in the emails he sends to both writers and editors, for example. Every publishing house has different methods of disclosing financial data to writers, and often that data is hard to contextualize without the assistance of an agent, an accountant, or a more knowledgeable and trustworthy writer.</p>
<p>Trust becomes a big issue in writing communities. Because so many writers work in isolation, they often look for places to interact with other writers, and it’s gratifying when someone comes along who seems to have the answers to the myriad questions many writers have about the business, especially newer writers. In a time when so many people meet their friends and partners at work, community becomes even more important, which makes writers particularly vulnerable to those who would take advantage. It’s not an accident that so many #MeToo stories in the literary community are coming from women who thought men wanted to mentor them. Even those men are susceptible to being overly trusting, though; Sherman Alexie, recently <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/03/05/589909379/it-just-felt-very-wrong-sherman-alexies-accusers-go-on-the-record">accused</a> of taking advantage of women in his community, <a href="http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/2015/09/like-most-every-poet-i-have-viewed-the-publication-of-each-years-best-american-poetry-with-happiness-i-love-that-poem-je-1.html">acknowledged</a> he’d been duped by a white male writer pretending to be an Asian woman when Alexie selected poetry for the <em>Best American Poetry 2015</em> anthology.</p>
<p>The solution to these problems isn’t obvious, because not only can some of these things not be fixed, some of them shouldn’t be. Writers shouldn’t become so cynical they don’t trust anyone, and they shouldn’t avoid participating in communities. Publishing isn’t going to all of a sudden become transparent, though it’s certainly improved over the years, albeit slowly. But one thing that is helping involves communication. People often talk about the mixed utility of “whisper networks,” but when people use them responsibly, revealing information publicly once it’s been vetted, it becomes harder for predators to operate.</p>
<p>Writers working together to share information that would normally be secret can help tremendously as well. The writer <a href="https://manjulamartin.com/">Manjula Martin</a> started an anonymous website called <a href="http://whopayswriters.com/#/results">Who Pays Writers</a> that allows people to submit what different writing outlets pay, which helps freelance writers manage their careers more effectively. Websites like <a href="https://absolutewrite.com/forums/forum.php">Absolute Write’s Water Cooler</a> and <a href="http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/">SFWA’s Writer Beware</a> identify publishing professionals who aren’t behaving professionally.</p>
<p>Of course, a little cynicism doesn’t hurt — healthy skepticism can keep people safe, and if someone or something seems too good to be true, it probably is. But it’s difficult for individuals to monitor the ins and outs of an opaque business like publishing without help, and literary grifters and predators should not be permitted to destroy the literary communities people work so hard to build. Instead, writers have to work hard to make those communities strong so it’s easier to shine a light on problems when they arise.</p>
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On Literary Grifters and Predators

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<div class="at-above-post-homepage addthis_tool" data-url="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/thoughts-tenure-free-speech-untenured-faculty-member/"></div><p>The topic of whether tenure in higher education is still a good idea often comes up when a tenured faculty member says something controversial as part of the public conversation. For example, shortly after the death of former First Lady Barbara Bush, California State University Fresno Professor Randa Jarrar of called her an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2018/04/18/after-calling-barbara-bush-an-amazing-racist-a-professor-taunts-critics-i-will-never-be-fired/?utm_term=.abe0c310d8fb">“amazing racist”</a> on Twitter, reigniting the debate over tenure and leading to a number of attacks on Jarrar herself.</p>
<p>My position as Director of the Communication and Legal Reasoning Program at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is untenured, though many faculty members who teach first-year legal writing courses at other schools are tenure-eligible, which means I’ve had many occasions to contemplate the value of tenure. While there’s lots to debate, the dialogue around Jarrar’s statements highlights a number of things that make tenure particularly valuable for women, people of color, and other marginalized people in the academy.</p>
<p>First, there is the question of whether faculty members speaking in their capacity as private citizens have a particular obligation to be sensitive to their role as public intellectuals. Jarrar in particular received criticism not just for the content of what she said but for the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fresno-state-lecturer-slams-school-for-not-backing-randa-jarrar-barbara-bush-tweet/">timing</a>, a critique also lodged at a lot of people after the death of <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/antonin-scalia-supreme-court-clarence-thomas-twitter/">Justice Antonin Scalia</a>.</p>
<p>But it’s not uncommon for people to grow frustrated with the way the past misbehavior of public figures gets washed away upon their death, and the internet (and Twitter in particular) has proved a useful venue for reminding the public of those misdeeds. A perfect example is the outrage over Hillary Clinton’s <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/11/politics/hillary-clinton-nancy-reagan-aids/index.html">speech</a> at Former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s funeral, identifying Reagan as starting a conversation about gay rights when in fact her family was instrumental in hindering those rights.</p>
<p>No doubt, it’s hard to be the person to start the difficult conversations, particularly during times of great public sensitivity. Arguably, though, that’s what public intellectuals are supposed do to — the protections of tenure exist to encourage them to speak their minds freely and without fear of repercussion, provided they don’t run afoul of the First Amendment.</p>
<p>Second, it’s difficult to know where the line is between one’s role as a faculty member and one’s role as a private citizen when speaking on complex topics in public. In Jarrar’s case, her invocation of her status as a tenured faculty member and her decision to provide the public with her university president’s Twitter handle complicated the question of whether her speech was private or university-sponsored.</p>
<p>Ultimately, though, given that the whole point of tenure is to protect scholars from losing their jobs when they take controversial positions, whether in speech or in their research, it’s a distinction without a difference. The American Association of University Professors’ <a href="https://www.aaup.org/report/1940-statement-principles-academic-freedom-and-tenure">Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure</a> goes back to 1940 and emphasizes that professors should be able to speak as citizens with freedom from censure and discipline. They are encouraged to show restraint and avoid speaking for their institutions, but out of courtesy rather than obligation.</p>
<p>It’s worth asking why there was much outcry over Jarrar’s statement when so many have said far worse about other public figures in the past. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/4/24/17262066/professor-randa-jarrar-fresno-state-barbara-bush-twitter">Some have noted that</a> it didn’t seem like an accident that Jarrar came under attack in large part for being a woman of color, and a Muslim woman in particular. As others have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/opinion/the-politically-incorrect-randa-jarrar.html">pointed out</a>, Roger Stone made far more incendiary statements about Bush on Instagram, but with significantly less discussion of his far more offensive statements than Jarrar’s. Jarrar herself even said she felt she <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2018/04/randa-jarrar-fresno-state-professor-interview.html">received more negative feedback</a> because of her ethnicity and her gender.</p>
<p>This is probably the most important protection tenure can offer: it preserves job security for those whose speech is most frequently under threat. It’s not at all surprising that Jarrar would be subjected to more fire for her words than other people, given how poorly <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2018/03/online-violence-against-women-chapter-1/#topanchor">women</a>, <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/07/25/1-in-4-black-americans-have-faced-online-harassment-because-of-their-race-or-ethnicity/">people of color</a>, and <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/there-s-a-line-to-draw-muslim-officer-rises-above-online-abuse-20180322-p4z5kq.html">Muslims</a> are treated online and how unwilling most internet forums are to extend them protection. Tenure is at present one of the few effective ways to ensure that these and other voices are part of the public conversation.</p>
<p>Of course, in an ideal world, all people could engage in political speech without fear of losing their jobs, with or without tenure. Professor Corey Robbin of Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center wrote a <a href="https://twitter.com/CoreyRobin/status/986775869707481089">thread</a> on Twitter discussing how what’s happening to Jarrar highlights the need for all workers to be protected when engaging in political speech, no matter where on the political spectrum they fall. Perhaps in that world, tenure would be less necessary.</p>
<p>But in the world we live in now, tenure exists precisely so someone like Professor Jarrar, a person who has long been an outspoken activist, can continue to be an outspoken activist by ensuring that someone she perceives as harming others isn’t turned into a hero by mere virtue of her passing. That’s not only uncontroversial; it’s exactly what she should be doing, and tenure exists to protect her right to do it. While her university wasn’t exactly full-throated in its <a href="http://www.fresnostatenews.com/2018/04/24/president-joseph-i-castro-letter-on-conclusion-of-review-regarding-professor/">statement</a> that it did not intend to discipline her, it was a great relief to know that she works in an environment where her willingness to say the hard things continues to be protected. We should only hope other tenured faculty members are brave enough to do the same.</p>
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Thoughts on Tenure and Free Speech from an Untenured Faculty Member

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<div class="at-above-post-homepage addthis_tool" data-url="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/crossing-ya-bridge-book-recommendations/"></div><p>Holiday gift buying season is here and books are often at the top of the wish list for millions of us. With book sales expected to <a href="http://pressreleases.pl/?p=4869619">increase</a> five percent in November and December alone, and two percent for the year overall, it’s clear lots of people are planning to include book purchases in their holiday shopping. <a href="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/crossing-ya-bridge-book-recommendations/#more-6117" class="more-link">Read more</a></p>
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Crossing the YA Bridge: Book Recommendations for All

Michelle Falkoff is the Director of Communication and Legal Reasoning at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She is the author of the young adult novels&nbsp;<em>Playlist for the Dead,&nbsp;Pushing Perfect,</em> and&nbsp;<em>Questions I Want to Ask You.</em>