So it looks like Library of the Living Dead, the publisher that yanked the queer zombie antho, have posted a statement about why they pulled it. According to Dr. Pus, their Editor/Compiler:
I was the one who gave the go ahead for the Anthology. But with all the things that are going on in my life right now I didn’t think it all the way through. I became afraid I would upset people by publishing the book. That’s the reason in a nutshell.
and
I’m a huge supporter of the GLBT community. They are my brothers and sisters.
That’s right. The EiC of a horror micropress caved to imaginary bigots over hypothetical outrage.
Memo to Dr. Pus: Being an ally can be quite scary, but until you stop being too terrified to go to bat for LGBTQ people against your own shadow, you don’t get to call me your brother.
ETA: they’ve locked the post now, but I did post a reply to Dr. Pus about his choice to pull the antho:
Dr. Pus,
I don’t know you personally, and I wasn’t aware of Library of the Living Dead press until somebody (another queer writer) passed me a link to the original call for submissions for this antho. I’m a fledgling pro, I dig zombies, and I’m queer, so it was a perfect match. Every single person I knew I mentioned it to thought the idea of a collection of LGBTQ zombie stories was completely brilliant.
When Grinder announced the plug had been pulled, apparently because you guys had gotten flack from other authors who’d contributed to other books, I was appalled but not surprised. I didn’t think it was the right choice, but I could at least see how someone in your place might make that choice.
Caving to imaginary outrage, though? I don’t understand. You’re valuing the voices of a group of people who would be despicable even if they had appeared over a group of people you claim as your “brothers and sisters.”
If you were my real brother, we’d be having words right now.
My would-be submission is in my drafts folder. It’s about half finished — I had another project to finish before I could really focus on it — so I never sent it in. If I had, though, I’d turn down your money so for two reasons:
One, I don’t like to be paid for something I haven’t earned, and two, so that you could take that money and use it to help build your press so that when you’ve got another chance to be a genuine ally, you can take it.
To paraphrase something a friend said to someone earlier this week, I don’t get to stop being queer just because it’s hard or scary. If you want to be a real ally — our brother — neither do you.
Good luck.
This post has been mirrored from Christian A. Young's Dimlight Archive. To see it in its original format, visit dimlightarchive.com
