Hello, welcome to the What's to Read Next podcast. I am so excited to be back and sharing you with you some bookish news. So originally part of this episode aired on Wednesday, March 5th, and where we talk about bookish gossips, we talked about Supreme Court ban, looking for book banning, the Oscars, as well as a couple of problematic authors I want to focus on Sophie Lark's book controversy. So, earlier this week on broke down early reviews of the Sparrow and Biden book by Sophie Lark came out, and it showed a couple problematic sentences, talk about immigrants as well as Elon Musk, and in this political climate, it was just like, it was just not acceptable. So later on Sophie Lark releases Statement and we're gonna hear about it. So this part of this episode was air originally on March 5th as a bookish cross up episode, but I want to share, the information concentrated in one place, so if you have questions, you can always come back to it. in the middle of the episode, we're going to give you an update of what happened next. That we found out this information as of today, March 6th, 2025. Get ready to hear all about the Sophie Lark controversy with Sparrow and Vine let's get to the episode.

The first one I'm going to get into is author Sophie Lark. Now this book cover that I have up on screen is for the Sparrow and Vine. It was supposed to be the first book in a series. The information that was available online before it was removed is that Sparrow and Vine series. This is the first in a brand new arranged marriage series about a woman who has to marry a man from a rival family in order for them to secure their portion of an inheritance. Now, full disclosure, you cannot find this book on Amazon anymore. You cannot find it on any, Goodreads, Netgalley, anywhere, anything. This was pulled before the author and the publisher and everybody involved pulled everything down about this book. Now you might be wondering, well, hey, what is wrong with said book? Well, let's get into it. So we're going to credit the well read nurse on Threads. This is from Threads, right? Yes. Who did a little highlight from a section in the book. And I quote, it says, highlight yellow location 839, and I quote, but shouldn't there be a crew of people with questionable work visas picking these grapes for hot? Okay, that is one line of a larger, more problematic thing. Clearly, this author is alluding to immigrants who Are not here legally. They should be the people picking off things. I mean, we live in a very fraught time where, you know. Things like this is extra, super, super sensitive. So clearly there would be a lot of backlash surrounding that. The author then goes on to put out a statement. I'm going to read the statement for you all, especially if you are listening or you just can't read the text on screen. So author Sophie Lark in a statement from Instagram says, I want to start by saying how much I appreciate this community. Your passion, support and willingness to engage in meaningful conversations have always meant the world to me. That's why it's so important for me to address something I got wrong. It has been brought to my attention that certain lines in Sparrow and Vine were hurtful. Reading your messages and hearing your perspective over the past 24 hours has been humbling, and I want to acknowledge the pain my words have caused. I'm truly sorry. My intention was to craft and demonstrate a flawed main character. But instead I wrote dialogue that read as attacking to a community I care about very much During the editing process bloom and now i'm going off course bloom is the publisher if you're not familiar guys Bloom recommended removing these lines and I made the wrong choice in keeping them I now understand the impact I now understand that impact matters more than intent And I regret that my words caused harm. Please don't blame bloom for my mistakes. I wrote this back in the summer of 2024 and a lot has changed in the world since then, particularly in regards to the fate of immigrants worldwide and certain public figures. Some things I would write differently now. So that's exactly what I'm going to do. Words mean nothing without action. So I'm pausing this book. And this series for some rewrites to ensure that my work doesn't contribute to harm I will also be listening more closely to our sensitivity readers and taking additional steps to educate myself On responsible storytelling and to those who took the time to share their feedback. Thank you to those I have heard I am very sorry. I hope I can earn your trust again in the future I know that was a lengthy statement, but that was from the author sophie lark. It can be found on instagram That was just basically screenshots what are your thoughts on this statement? I'm just going to say real quick, because I want to hear what you all have to say. The fact that she said the world changed from 2024 when she originally wrote now we're in two months in 2020, not much has changed this. No, go off. No, just people came out of the woodwork and just said that quite loud, quite a thing out loud. So yes, it was, the issue was always there. The issue, the statement was. always hurting the people that you're actually serving. It's not just doesn't matter your immigrant status. It's just like we're in a place where there's high sensitivity and this rhetoric was going on last year in the committee trail. So this is not brand new. The fact that she blamed that she's trying to spare bloom from all hurt. It's still bloom still put the on that galley for readers to read it. So they probably there's, they still have responsibility. If they chose not to bloom could choose, like, this is not ready to go. And basically says we're not posting this until some serious re editing would take place. So yeah, no, I think both parties are to blame. I think it's not just one or the other. I think both are incredibly problematic. And I think. It's platforming someone who has established brand of morally gray. And so this is a way to be morally gray. It's a cop out. What are your thoughts, Fran? Yeah. Well, besides the things that we just talked about, which, I mean, facts, but also the fact that she wrote that she was trying to write this flawed main character. And there are certain things that a character cannot come back from. So like that cannot be a cop out for. You know how she wants to write her story that the summer of 2024 thing is just wild to me that you would even write that and the other thing about trying to spare bloom is the fact that you're actually telling us that you rolled over them and like they just said, Yeah, whatever. We'll just do anything you want. Like that's not making them look good. either because that means that they're just going to put out anything just because a big name author tells them this is how I want it. So like that doesn't make them look good either in the sense of how she was trying to like save them. So I don't know. And also I should point out that Bloom has not. made a public statement. They just shared Sophie's statement, but they haven't actually made a statement themselves, which I think is also very bad. I can agree with y'all more. I mean, I think it's very bad. I'm, my brain is mentally stuck at You were writing this in 2024. Yeah, if you told me you wrote this in 2019, even then I'd still be looking at you But I could be like grace because a lot of people learned a lot of things during the panorama. However comma All right. I'm gonna I think I love a balanced conversation. So I'm gonna take a Opposite view for a quick second. Listen people. I don't agree with any of this Purposes of bands because I do believe in balance. I don't like echo chambers I really don't all right for the purposes of balance How should an author, and this is in all seriousness, how should an author approach what she was saying she was trying to do? She was trying to create a flawed character because here's the thing. I've been here in my lovely little office space, AKA library, AKA guest overflow room in one of the, at some point when my house is full. When I step out the door, I step outside to the real world and in the real world You do have problematic people you have people with good intentions who might say the wrong thing You have people who are just downright problematic and you're like stay far away with that in mind, how do we approach that in literature because Again, we can't have books where everyone is doing the right thing and saying the right thing all the time, you know How can we write flawed characters maybe someone who is racist maybe someone Who is what is that word for people who doesn't like gay people? You know what? I mean doesn't like anyone really from a different faith like how can we approach this? In a responsible way, because I also think it's irresponsible to not include, depending on the book you're writing, but problematic people in real life are a real thing. So I think authors should be able to write that in literature. Absolutely. I actually believe that too. I don't think that everything should be perfect. There should be some problematic things in what we're reading anyway, because like we got to learn from something. If we're just seeing everything perfect, there's nothing to learn from. So I would say a couple of things. First of all, the genre matters. So when we're talking about romance, and even in romance, what is the role of that character, I think that matters. So, there are certain things, and I mean, I do read some questionable, morally gray heroes, that may kill people. Fine. But Unalive ers, I'm like, all about the Unalive ers, the Luigi Mangione kind of Yes, I mean Those are my jam. That's why I think there's also something to be said for the fact that everybody has different lines that cannot be crossed. So that also goes back to a very personal thing from the reader's perspective. For me, there are certain things that you cannot. justify and make that like the main character. If you want to put that in the story and put that as a side character, that's fine. And there might be some other kind of subjects where you have to make that character realize or learn from what they've done, maybe at the beginning of the book or through at some point. And then there's gotta be, somebody's gotta call that out and there's gotta be a learning experience from it. At least if you want to maintain them as. But again, what that is, like, Is it killing somebody? Is it racism? Like, to me, that's probably a very gray area because everybody will have different lines. Like, where is your particular line? Like, what's the thing where you're like, well, I can engage with that. And yeah, I mean, I think that there's gotta be, it also depends on marketing. It depends on so many things. Like you cannot go out here putting this here or there, which, I mean, people did mention the fact that nobody called this. Like, it's not something that the hero's learning from, it's just, this is just how he is. And it maintains throughout the whole book. I can't say for sure because I haven't read the book, I did not I don't really read Sophie Lark. But, I think if you're gonna make the hero of a romance story, there's gotta be some redemption. To some tougher subjects, because even the killers there's always a little redemption moment or like something that makes them more like human, right, I think there should be a purpose behind, like, everything should have a purpose of like, why are you saying this way? And I like whether and there's a counteract, like, there's like a little antidote to it is not just for the sake of doing this, like, it's just going to show you morally flawed. Okay, but what is the How are you going to learn from it? What's going to, what's going to be What's the character arc? How are you going to grow from this issue? It's just the problem with romance, and this is something we have to be mindful, RWA for a long time was a really racist organization, which is the Obama Dean Board for Romance Writers of America, and for multiple years, as recent as 2020 2019 Books About White Supremacy won awards. And so this is just another, like, it's just another place where it's like, okay, we have to do better. What we know now, is there a purpose to have this kind of rhetoric in our romance reader? Like, is this something that's gonna, like, with no conflict or no one actually calling out of it? Or can we actually, we're in 2025, we have an opportunity to have more critical voices to explain why this is not acceptable anymore. But then again, we're in 2025 where people are coming out of the woodwork and coming out being overtly racist. Listen, I always will forever say this. I rather know who you are than guessing who you are. You know what I'm saying? So, hello. But anyways, if you're just joining us welcome. Let us know in the chat where you're joining us from. We are talking about Sophie Lark. An author who had the book Sparrow and Vine set to be released It's now been pulled from everywhere. So the listing for it for on sale on amazon is no longer there it's not on any netgalley goodreads. Just any platform where readers are reading, early advanced copies. It has been pulled Sophie also put out a statement apologizing to readers specifically about some of her very problematic lines like this one, which I have a screen grab from the well read nurse on threads. So thank you, the well read nurse for flagging that and, having the receipts because again, like I said, there's no trace of the book available online. I do want to note that the author did say it's being pulled. They're going to be re she's going to rewrite certain parts and then I'm sure the book will see the light of day at that point. The author is also saying the publisher told her these things were problematic, but she chose to go along with it.

we have breaking news. Cue noise. Okay. So we have reported on Monday in our live gossip session about Sophie Larks. Sparrow and Vine series being pulled from the publisher. Now, when we had reported on that on Monday, we were under the impression that the series is being pulled it's, you know, rewrites are going to happen. And then it was going to be republished. However, the New York times is reporting on it as of yesterday. So that would have been Wednesday, the fifth, that it is being pulled completely from the publisher. So I will include links to the New York Times in there, and also, um, the writer, Alexandra Alter, who reported on this for the Times. So long story short, this is being pulled completely from Bloom. That was the statement made by Bloom's representative, is that it's going to be completely pulled. I also want to mention, in the video that was done on Monday, I also had someone comment on youtube mentioning, uh, brook barnett wanted to get the name, right? Um that it is still available on netgalley like information wise so it's clear that it was archived However, you know, you can't request it as a galley if you want to get more reader feedback also head on over to Goodreads because it is clear that information is on Goodreads. People are sharing their thoughts and their feelings so you can always hop over there as well. But again, I found it very interesting. We three found it interesting when the New York Times decided that, hey, They are going to write an article on it. So Francesca, I mean, how are you feeling that the Times decided to one pick up? We talked about it on the channel, but now the New York Times have told, uh, has mentioned about it. What is your take on the Sophie Lark of it all? Yeah, first of all, I'm surprised kind of surprised that the New York Times was talking about it. I feel like in the past few years, they've definitely started to pick up more on stories that especially center on the romance genre, because that's not something they used to do. So I was glad to see that in terms of like the coverage for the genre. But you know, obviously, this is bad coverage in the sense that it's Bad press, if you will, but in terms of the series being canceled completely by the publisher. I feel like I understand where they're coming from because like they just don't want to deal with the drama. They've been very hands off in this whole process, which I don't think was the right approach for them. Like they've just. They've just basically said, well, we had nothing to do with it basically. But, you know, you did because there was an editorial process, like there, there was edit edits and stuff like that. That should have happened. I would think at least so it doesn't make them look good. Um, and they just chose the easy way out. But also I think that Sophie Lark is a big enough name. She can self publish it. She can edit as much or as little as she wants. She can self publish it and she'll still be okay. Yep. Yep. I definitely agree. Laura, what is your take on Sophie Lark? But also the fact that the New York Times is covering this. So the New York Times compared, I read the article and it compared this issue about early critics, criticism for early readers, for advanced readers copy. And it, it brought out to the fact that Elizabeth Gilbert a couple years ago was about to write a book about Russia. Early in the Russian Ukrainian War, and a lot of readers brought up how tone deaf it was, and all the specifics, and how the publisher pulled, and she had to cancel that book altogether. So they're comparing the same thing, but it's not the same because Sophie Lark is an independent, um, author who has built her career basically self publishing, so she understands the KDP world, um, and so it's not the same. It's not like she's scrapping the story altogether. the story would likely come back in a few years as she stated she's going to work with sensitivity readers and she's going to work on her issues and then she's going to probably republish the story or republish a new story so it's not fully cancelled as people As the New York Times tried to make it seem, it's just not. It's just, it's just going to come back. She might take a break from social media, as we've seen the playbook before, and then come back in a few years. And, but then again, the internet has receipts. And if people are going to look for it, it's something, something like problematic. This, this stuff, the internet will show up. She might try to scrape it out of it, but she won't be able to, like there's a New York Times article about it. I just find this whole thing interesting. So if you are just hearing about the Sophie Lark situation, let me just say it that way or yes, I like Sophie Lark problematic So let me say that if you are just hearing about the Sophie Lark controversy and you're curious about why she's problematic We did a whole separate video on Monday because we have a live gossip session. We talked about it over there But as it relates to the New York Times, I find it very interesting that they have decided to cover this Yes, they're keeping their eye and their finger on the pulse Pulse of what is happening in the online book community because they realize, you know, what, what we say, how we feel it has effects. And of course it has consequences. I think Sophie Lark will be okay. The big question is, will she self publish, which she is very familiar with that landscape, or will she try to shop it somewhere else? I also want to bring attention to the publisher because I feel like the publisher Has been completely hands off in this situation I almost feel like they've put the author out to dry And i'm just trying to look at it from another side. I mean do I think she was hella wrong for that? Absolutely, if the publisher had pointed this out to her like they said or like she said rather So if the publisher pointed it out, like she said, but they were still going along with it, even though she said no I think they should be saying something. So, Runebooks, you need to put out a statement. You need to explain why you allowed one of your authors to do it. I mean, again, was she wrong? Absolutely. I'm not taking up for her in any way, shape, or form. But I do think it is wrong that she's the only person taking blame. They're just saying, hey, We are pulling the series we will not be publishing it So it's going to be interesting to see if she self publishes or if she tries to shop it with another publisher

So there you have it. This is all that we know so far about Sparrow and VInes book cancellation and Sophie Lark, what's going to happen. So if there's any other breaking news, I'll come by and I'll do a breaking news episode for you to keep you posted on this issue. Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider subscribe, rate, and review about it. It's the best way to support the podcast. If you want to get updates as well as special podcasts, you can join the sub stack at whatreadnextblog. com. There's a link to the sub stack as well as more book lists every day. Thank you so much for listening. Have a great day.