Publishers defend American Dirt as claims of cultural appropriation grow

Jeanine Cummins’s novel, acclaimed by Oprah Winfrey, Stephen King and others, also faces scathing criticism from Latinx writers

Jeanine Cummins’s British publisher, Headline, is standing shoulder to shoulder with the American press that published her divisive thriller, declaring that it is proud to publish her in the UK. As the backlash continues over her novel about migration from Mexico to the US, the imprint acknowledged the book has “sparked debate about the legitimacy of who gets to tell which stories”.

American Dirt, the high-octane story of a Mexican mother who crosses into the US with her son, was published this week. It was acquired for a seven-figure sum by Flatiron Books in the US, and received effusive pre-publication praise from authors including Stephen King and Don Winslow. It went on to land a film deal and win selection from Oprah’s Book Club – a surefire guarantee of bestsellerdom.

Related: Jeanine Cummins on her explosive new novel, American Dirt

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