The Russian book distributor ordered “returns or destruction” by Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Eugenides, including Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Eugenides and British bestseller Bridget Collins, in the latest case of censorship targeting the country’s literary scene.
Trading House BMM will need to send a letter this week to a shop that can be found on the BBC and immediately remove the list of 37 titles from the sale.
The list also included texts by Slovenian philosopher Slavozi Zizek, Japanese novelist Ryu Murakami, and many Russian writers.
This order arises amid the growth of the Kremlin censorship since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The letter warned of “adverse effects” without providing further details because of suspicion that “there was no longer abide by Russian law if books such as Virgin Suicide and Murakami’s Ecstasy were not pulled from the shelf.”
Bookstores say they need to stop selling and return it immediately. [the titles] Or destroy the remaining copies and provide confirmation of destruction,” the message said.
Targeted books are eclectic mixes.
For Bridget Collins’ book The Binding, Asprentice Bookbinder, it works just like the oral history of reggae by David Katz, as well as Lisi Harrison’s romance The Dirty Book Club.
The letter was signed by BMM CEO Anastasia Nikitanova. Anastasia Nikitanova hung up when the BBC approached her for a comment and did not respond to further messages.
“We checked the list and now we don’t have these books in stock,” an employee at one of the stores that received a letter that told the BBC on condition of anonymity.
They continued: “If that’s the case, we might have tried to understand what was wrong with them. I don’t know why the publishers chose these books… it’s a sign of moral panic that has surpassed the market.”
The newly banned book was released in Russia by the publisher Ripol Classic and Dom Istorii, a partner with BMM.
Sergei Makarenkov, Head of Ripol Classic, said: [the list] It is probably related to anti-LGBT methods. This needs to be clarified in BMM… I can’t clearly explain what happened here. ”
“That list is now everywhere and is completely normal,” he added. McAlenkov said that details are available but if they did not respond to follow-up calls at the time of publication, they will return to the BBC.
Russia banned minors from promoting “non-traditional sexual orientation” in 2013, but since the start of a full-scale Ukraine invasion, it expanded its law to ban “LGBT propaganda” from spreading among people of all ages.
Moscow also labels what is called the “International LGBT Movement” as “extremist organizations,” but there is no such official movement.
The BMM Letter follows the well-known case against the publisher behind the Teen Romance novel “A Summer a Summer in the Red Scarf” and other titles on the LGBT theme.
Summer in Red Scarves tells the story of two teenage boys falling on each other in a Soviet Pioneer camp.
The backlash against the book prompted two authors to leave Russia. And earlier this month, a Moscow court was placed under Popcorn Books and personal housing arrest manager, part of EKSMO, Russia’s largest publishing group.
Additional Reports by Sergei Goryashko
