Sensitivity readers, HEART and the coolest bookstore in the land…
Happy Sunday everyone (let’s pretend we’re not working tomorrow for a moment).
I’ve got a rant, a HEART and an indy bookstore to celebrate so here goes…
The Sensitivity Stereotype
Rant incoming…
Have you heard of the ‘sensitivity reader’? If not, what springs to mind when you think of the role?
The role is actually a much-needed and valuable one, to support writers in getting things right - particularly when it comes to matters they have no experience of (e.g. disability, racial discrimination, mental health problems, sexual orientation, etc).
But the title, on the other hand, to me, anyway, just makes me think that we are playing into the ‘snowflake’ narrative. Indeed, there are a few articles out there that talk about pandering to ‘woke culture’ and writers desperate not to ‘get cancelled’. The words ‘taking offence’ are often bandied around with it too. Frankly, it’s a load of old shite!
I have both used and served as a so-called sensitivity reader - mainly in TV rather than books through my work with Mind’s media advice service (where we never used the term ‘sensitivity reader’). Surely, as with writing a piece about neuroscience, or the Victorian age or the criminal justice system, the biggest point of employing a ‘sensitivity reader’ is about getting it fucking right! Because if we don’t do our research, we’re not going to be powerful and engaging writers, we’re going to get shit reviews, have major plot holes in our work and, yes, we are going to offend people. But let’s be honest, we’ll offend people if we get it wrong whether it comes to placing an unfortunate pop culture anachronism in a novel or writing a great big whopping mental health stereotype. The problem is, the latter is more dangerous than the former - stigma and misrepresentation can cause all manner of problems - from hate crimes to worsening mental health problems.
So, having used the term ‘sensitivity reader’ for the first time the other day, even though I have worked in such a role for several years now, I got a bit angry and decided to vent in the Bookseller’s blog section. Fancy a read? Check out the link below:
HEART (Higher Education and Recovery Talk)
As you might imagine, given how I’ve written so much about mental health and addiction stigma, a lot of my day job involves working with a brilliant range of charities, including Recovery Connections - a peer-led charity based in the North East that has just launched a new digital platform for students in recovery from substance use problems.
We’ve got some great ambassadors on board (big up Natasha Devon MBE, Shahroo Izadi, Dr Suzi Gage and Dr Ed Day) and we’ll have some interesting pieces in the media over the coming week or two…
If you’d like to take a look at the site, check it out at the link below - and please do share with any students you believe could benefit from this online support and advice:
Could this be the coolest bookstore in the land…?
I am absolutely chuffed to bits to see my book, The Twenty Seven Club, now sitting proudly at home in what is quite possibly the coolest bookstore. Wrecking Ball Music and Books, where I was recently privileged to deliver a talk in collaboration with legendary DJ Dave Haslam, is now stocking my 90s novel in my hometown of Hull - however, if you’re not local but you want to support an indy writer through a superb indy bookstore, please do order a copy at the link below.
Oh - and if you don’t fancy my book, or you’ve already read it, do check out the wider store products (and events if you’re local). Wrecking Ball is part of Wrecking Ball Press who publish some seriously fantastic works - including two of my recommendations - any of the poetry by Dean Wilson and the seriously gritty novel from Kirsty Allison - PSYCHOMACHIA. You’ll be supporting an amazing company, great book and record store and brilliant writers!
Hope the rest of your Sunday evening is fun. Please share links to any of your fave indy bookstores below (and tag a book recommendation!)
Lucy x