An independent bookshop owner has issued a groveling apology after causing an online uproar when she called for more books with ‘white children on the cover’.
Susanne Horman, owner of the Robinsons bookstore chain, had also pledged to stop offering titles that ‘divide people’.
Ms Horman was forced to close her account on X, formerly Twitter, and clarify her comments after tweets she posted last month were ‘taken out of context’ and ‘edited’.
Booklovers vowed to boycott Melbourne’s largest independent bookstore after several tweets from Ms Horman’s account, ending with the hashtag #weneedbetterstories, went viral on Instagram and Reddit.
The first tweet noted what content was missing from the shelves of Robinsons Bookshop’s seven outlets.
Robinsons Bookshop owner Susanne Horman claims her tweets were ‘taken out of context’ and ‘edited by individuals’
“Positive male protagonists of every age, all traditional white family stories, children’s picture books with only white children on the cover, and no wheelchair, rainbow or Indigenous art, non-Indigenous Australian history,” Ms Horman wrote on December 9.
A follow-up tweet the next day listed the books the retailer did not need and would no longer have in stock.
‘Hate against white Australians, socialist agenda, equality about equality, diversity and inclusion (READ AS anti-white exclusion), left-wing government propaganda. Basically the woke agenda that divides people. I will not be stocking these in 2024,” Ms Horman wrote.
Ten days later she returned to X with a public plea and an ultimatum to the publishers.
‘I am calling for a substantial shift in the focus of Australian publishers to align with public opinion and demands for books and for what is GOOD!’ Mrs. Horman wrote.
“We’re not going to stock books that are intended to cause harm and make Australians hate each other.”
The screenshots of the three tweets show minimal response to X, apart from a single retweet.
The book chain has since publicly apologized to anyone offended by the comments.
It also claimed Ms Horman’s tweets had been taken out of context and ‘edited by individuals’.
Robertson’s Bookshop (pictured) apologized on Sunday after a series of tweets sparked online backlash and threats from book lovers and authors to boycott the store
Shop owner Susanne Horman says she has been forced to close her X account after recent tweets (photo) went viral
“They are being taken out of context and misrepresented as the views of Robinsons Bookshop, when that is not the case,” said a social media post from the chain on Sunday.
“We make it clear, so there is no misunderstanding, that we fully support and encourage stories from diverse voices and minorities, and we certainly stock these important topics and the authors who write them.
“As a company, we will continue to champion positive, hopeful stories that bring out the best in our entire community and make all people feel supported and fulfilled.”
The post ended with a call for customers to treat store staff with kindness and respect, in the wake of criticism of the company.
Ms Horman has since clarified comments about the “small variety of themes” in books recently released by publishers.
“For some reason we have several categories of books that are not being written or published in sufficient quantities to meet customer demand,” she said. The age.
‘Some genres are overcrowded on our shelves, others are noticeably bare. Positive stories with men and boys as heroes are almost missing from the mix.’
Ms Horman deleted her X account due to the strong reactions her messages provoked.
“People have a tendency to say things that aren’t true and can become quite mean on X,” she said. “This X account was barely used and had very few followers.”
The bookstore has recovered and will continue to advocate for “positive, hopeful” book titles
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Horman for further comment.
Questions about the messages remained unanswered on Monday.
“If they were edited and taken out of context, why was the Twitter account deleted?” wrote one customer. ‘Then we could have seen the context.’
Another added: ‘It’s great to hear that you support and encourage diverse stories and authors, although I wonder how much of an act of reproducing the tweets in their entirety constitutes editing, misrepresenting or taking them out of context?’
Others jumped to the defense of Robinson’s bookstore staff and called on Ms. Horman to take more responsibility for the furor.
“The apology and explanation of the so-called context should come directly from the person who wrote the messages,” one woman commented.
“What we have read was on Ms Horman’s
Ms Horman has since clarified recent comments regarding the “small variety of themes” in books recently released by publishers.
Some authors called for their books not to be supplied by the chain.
‘I would prefer that Robinsons did not have the opportunity to stock my books. I invite you all to do the same,” wrote Wirlomin-Noongar writer Claire G Coleman.
The outrage prompted several customers to defend the owner.
‘Fantastic to see Robinson Bookshops and Susanne Horman say what we all think about books!’ wrote one man.
“We are tired of the rainbow themes, race and woke agenda in books, most Australians agree. Ignore the left-wing media reactions.”
Robinsons Bookshop celebrated its 60th anniversary last year.
The original store in Frankston has expanded to include six additional outlets since Ms Horman took over as owner in 2007.