Society of Authors distances itself from Philip Pullman’s tweets

The UK’s largest trade union for writers emphasised its anti-racist stance after its president, Pullman, showed support for Kate Clanchy on social media

The Society of Authors (SoA) has asked the writers it represents “to be mindful of privilege and of the impact of what they create, do and say” in an email to committee members responding to the recent criticism of Kate Clanchy’s 2019 Orwell-prize winning book, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me.

In the email, which has since been made public, the SoA also distances itself from comments made by its president Philip Pullman on Twitter. The His Dark Materials author had defended Clanchy, whose descriptions of children of colour and autistic children in particular, have been widely criticised on Goodreads and Twitter in recent days.

Related: Kate Clanchy book may be updated to remove racial stereotypes after criticism

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