'Very, very scared' author Anthony Horowitz is latest victim of cancel culture: Writer was 'shocked' when publisher made him rewrite large parts his latest children's book for fear of offending readers over ethnicity and gender
- Author Anthony Horowitz has said 'cancel culture' is limiting literary expression
- The 67-year-old told a crowd at Hay Festival he was 'shocked' after being told what he could not write in his book Diamond Detectives: Where Seagulls Dare
- He is one of a number of artists speaking out about and resisting cancel culture
- It comes as comedian Ricky Gervais was forced to defend his new Netflix show
Children's book publishers are frightened of cancel culture according to author Anthony Horowitz, who claims to have been affected by the trend.
Mr Horowitz, a television screenwriter and author of children's and adults novels, was left 'shocked' when he was told what he could not write in his latest book for his younger readers.
The 67-year-old claims a 'culture of fear' is limiting literary expression, according to The Times.
He is just one of a growing number of artists to speak out about and resist cancel culture which has seen the likes of Harry Potter author JK Rowling ostracised from parts of society for their views on subjects such as trans rights.
Anthony Horowitz (pictured) has admitted to being concerned about writing characters from different backgrounds to his, and about the potential backlash that may come with it
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He admitted to being concerned about writing characters from different backgrounds to his, and about the potential backlash that may come with it.
Speaking at the Hay Festival, he said: 'I'm very, very scared by what you're calling cancel culture.
'I think what is happening to writers is extremely dangerous, where certain words are hidden, where certain thoughts are not allowed anymore, where certain activities [are not allowed], obviously to do with gender or to with ethnicity or to do with trying to share the experiences of others.'
He told the crowd at Hay that he had 'suffered' while writing his latest children's book called Where Seagulls Dare: A Diamond Brothers Case, which is due to be released next month.
The book, about 'the world's worst detectives' is aimed at eight to 12 year olds. He said that an extensive rewrite was required, but declined to say what the changes were.
'I have just suffered from my last book notes from my publisher which absolutely shocked me about things which I could or couldn't say, which is a children's book, not an adult book,' he said.
'Children's book publishers are more scared than anybody. And it seems to me that the forces that are now active in the world — everything to do with the divisiveness of what we've been through, plus the sort of stark contrast thrown up by social media whereby something is either very good or very bad but there's nothing in between — this is leading to a culture of fear and that is the bigger problem.
'It's not about cancellation, it's not about anger, it is about the fear that all creative people must now feel if they're going to dare to write.
'I believe that writers should not be cowed, we should not be made to do things because we're so scared of starting a storm on Twitter. Because once you start with the writers entering that tunnel, the whole of society will follow them in and we're all going to be left nudging each other in the dark, too afraid to search for the light. That is sort of where we're heading.'
He recommended watching Ricky Gervais 'pull back from all that' amid criticism the 60-year-old has received this week for joking about trans people and Aids in a new Netflix show called SuperNature.
Mr Horowitz said he had 'suffered' while writing his latest children's book called Where Seagulls Dare: A Diamond Brothers Case
Mr Horowitz advocates watching Ricky Gervais (pictured) and other 'daring' people
In the show, he talks about 'old-fashioned women' and said: 'They're the ones with wombs. Those f***ing dinosaurs. I love the new women. They're great aren't they... the ones with beards and cocks.'
During the show, Mr Gervais also said: 'Full disclosure: in real life, of course, I support trans rights . . . I support all human rights, and trans rights are human rights. Live your best life. Use your preferred pronouns. Be the gender that you feel that you are. But meet me halfway, ladies: lose the cock. That's all I'm saying.'
He defended himself earlier this week, and said on BBC's The One Show that comedy is for 'getting over taboo subjects so they're not scary any more.'
'I think that's what comedy is for, really - to get us through stuff, and I deal in taboo subjects because I want to take the audience to a place it hasn't been before, even for a split second,' he said.
'Most offence comes from when people mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target.'
In the Netflix special, he explains that he takes whatever stance that makes his jokes funnier in the moment 'without prejudice' but that these do not represent his own views.
At Hay, Mr Horowitz advocated watching Mr Gervais and other 'daring' people. He said that 'shrill voices are being amplified by social media but actually they have nothing to say.'
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